


Sacrifice

by Thewonderfulwiccan



Series: Sacrifice [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice (Comics), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Violence, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Dick Grayson-centric, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Language, Healing, Human Trafficking, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kidnapping, Mental Anguish, Missions Gone Wrong, Murder, Non-Consensual Violence, Original Character(s), Other, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Series, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:48:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 18
Words: 91,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25010392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thewonderfulwiccan/pseuds/Thewonderfulwiccan
Summary: Teenagers are going missing and all have three things in common, they all share physical traits, are young students and all are never seen again. And when Dick finds he's the next target he desperately tries to solve this case. Turns out things may be a bit more complicated... one things for sure, this is the start of something far bigger and intricate than anticipated.
Series: Sacrifice [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1810819
Comments: 24
Kudos: 91





	1. Chapter 1

Starting off the day with a hostage situation was not Robin's idea of a fun Saturday. He'd honestly rather listen to Wally and Artemis fight over a remote for hours, then try and take down armed nut jobs at a party.

It really wasn't fun....obviously.

And the poor civilians cowering in the middle of the room with guns pointed at their heads weren't having any fun either. Obviously. Robin stared down at the poor people, at least the guy who owned this mansion had an obsession with beams in the ceilings. It helped with the whole staying out of sight thing. Too bad it was the middle of the day though.

"Hand over all your jewelry and money people!" A tall man with a ski mask yelled, shooting a bullet into the wall causing a few people to scream in terror. "Hurry your asses up or I'll shoot you all!" He grabbed a lady who screeched in absolute terror and he put his gun to her temple and put his hand on the trigger.

Robin really wanted to go down there and beat the crap out of that guy but Batman would kill him. He had strict orders to stay up here as backup and wait. And he wasn't really happy with that, he wanted to be down there helping. He didn't want to just sit here.

He felt useless.

And that feeling only grew when multiple batarangs flew out and hit the weapons out of the men's hands and the guy holding the gun to the lady's head dropped his gun and ran for his life. Robin smiled as he watched the guy run through the door while Batman was occupied with the others.

He'd get the bad guy fleeing..... And maybe that would make him feel useful.

Within seconds Robin was down on the floor and he was in the hallway that he saw the guy flee into and he smiled when he heard a door slam shut down the hall. This was going to be a piece of cake the guy was a complete idiot. And after quickly making his way down the hall he came across a few doors that most likely led to the bedrooms or something. And it really didn't take a genius to figure out which door was the one that slammed.... Since all the doors, but one was open.

Why were Criminals so stupid?! They all made this way too easy..... Was it really that hard to want a bit of a challenge?

Robin sighed and quickly opened the door and saw the masked guy cowering behind the window curtains.

Robin raised an eyebrow, "Seriously?"

_______________________

"Why did I agree to play chess with you again?" Artemis muttered rubbing her temples. She had only been at the mountain for two hours and Kid idiot had already pissed her off by being incredibly annoying, broke the remote, called her a llama, and for some reason she agreed to play chess with him....even though neither of them knew how to play.

Has this happened when extreme levels of boredom have been reached?

"Don't act like I know," Wally replied, staring at these chess pieces extremely confused on how the hell this game worked. He already tried to google how to play, but that was confusing, and Artemis kept nagging at him. "Not like I forced you to..." Wally groaned and rested his head on the kitchen counter. He had expected to have a fun Saturday at the mountain.... Maybe go on a mission or something. But Aqualad, Miss Martian and Superboy were gone to star city after Batman had sent them to stop some drug deal. And to top it all off, Robin was gone. Apparently he had been here earlier, but was called off to Gotham.

Bet he was having fun....

Robin B01

Oh, speak of the devil, jeez, it was like he knew he was missed. And just had to pop up. Wally sighed a breath of relief, "Finally! I don't gotta play chess with a llama!" And before Artemis could hit him with the chess board, he was already at the zeta-tubes where Robin was. "Dude, thank God you're here!" Wally cried out.

Robin looked at him confused, "What'd you do this time..?" Robin asked.

Wally smiled sheepishly, "Well I called Artemis a llama-" and before he could finish what he was saying a chess piece flew across the room and hit him in the side of his face. "OW!"

"STOP CALLING ME A DAMN LLAMMA!" Artemis screamed.

Robin watched Wally scream as more chess pieces flew at him and he quickly zoomed the hell out of here. Robin turned to Artemis, "A llama....seriously?" He asked his eyebrows raised.

Wally really had to stop with the elementary school insults. Pretty lame choice for an insult.....

Artemis just scowled "He's immature," She grumbled quite irritated. She didn't appreciate being called a llama.

"Says that one who threw stuff at me!" Wally screamed showing up next to Robin, he then immediately dodged this time the entire chess board. Where the hell was she hiding that?!

"Well you called me a llama first!" Artemis hissed.

"I'm starting to think I'm insulting llamas when I compare them to you," Wally smirked.

"I'm going to shove an arrow so far up your as-"

"Hey!" Robin yelled getting the two bickering teens attentions. "Are you guys serious...?" He wasn't too amused by this.....maybe dealing with a hostage situation was better than listening to these two bicker. "Couldn't you two at least come up with better insults?" He asked walking to the living room. He just wanted some peace.....but then again maybe he shouldn't have come here. Not like there'd be any peace and quiet here.

He sat down on the couch and sighed when Wally and Artemis could be heard bickering from the other side of the mountain.

Sometimes he felt like he needed a vacation.....

A long vacation away from everybody....

____________________________________________

"Did you hear about what happened to Evelyn Myers?!"

Dick looked up from the lunch table and looked to Barbara who had just sat down next to him, "Uh who?" He asked eyebrows raised. "What'd she do...break a nail or something?" He really wasn't sure if he should care. Girls at this school were almost all obsessed with their appearance and how people thought of them. So he was kind of used to this by now.

"What!? No!" Barbara hissed punching his arm. She always took school gossip very seriously and what she had just overheard was huge news. "She's gone."

"What do you mean gone?" It was a Monday......people were gone all the time. "And who is Evelyn? Some friend of yours!?" He asked. He was not really in the mood to listen to Barbara's wild and probably exaggerated story about some girl he had never heard of.

"She was kidnapped!" She cried out her eyes wide, "Look I don't know her that well...I've seen her in the hallway a few times and had her as a lab partner, but I heard some of her close friends saying that they hadn't heard from her all weekend," She explained. "A-And apparently she went to Blüdhaven for the weekend with her parents and went missing there."

Dick leaned back in the chair he was sitting on. "And you're certain she's actually missing?" He asked. This was slightly worrying but then again why the hell would her family go to Blüdhaven? That place was plagued with creeps and criminals. Although he doubted she was actually missing, girls overreacted sometimes....right?

"I heard her friends say that her parents hired a private investigator," She paused and bit her lip, "Or well....uh something along those lines."

Dick just sighed, "It's just gossip Babs. Nothing to worry about," He replied standing up when he heard the bell ring signaling lunch was over. Nearly done with the done....thank god.

Barbara groaned, "This is serious!" She hissed following him into the hallway. "What if she really was kidnapped?" She asked.

"Then the police will find her...." He replied grabbing some stuff out of his locker.

"What If they don't!?"

Dick took a deep breath and closed his locker and turned to her. He was getting slightly annoyed by all of this, every week she had some wacky story either about something that she claimed to have happened. Or something that would happen. "Barbara you're overthinking this..." He said scowling. "I promise that this is all just some wild rumor and no one is missing.."

Barbara just huffed and walked away leaving Dick alone at his locker. He just sighed a breath of relief and made his way to class, Barbara was an amazing friend and he loved her (Not in that way) but sometimes dealing with her was torture. 

___________________________

Dick tossed his bookbag aside and plopped down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. All day he had heard non-stop gossiping about the supposed kidnapping of Evelyn Myers so during the ride home he'd looked it up and found absolutely nothing to prove that it actually had happened.

But he had a tiny feeling that maybe something could be up?

Although that wasn't likely since this had to be some wild rumor. Wild rumors happened all the time at Gotham Academy, it was a regular thing. Like the rumor that one of the science teachers was a psychopath and that the skeleton in there was an old student that pissed the teacher off.....now that was a funny rumor. 

He scowled when his phone went off and he sat up and grabbed his phone and looked at it and groaned. It was Barbara and she was spamming him with links to some website. "What the hell.." He muttered clicking one of the links, he was then sent to some half assed website that had an article about....Evelyn Myers being kidnapped.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Barbara was Hellbent on this being real and not some rumor. Well she was stubborn. Dick eventually gave in when she started spamming him with read it, over and over again.

And after reading the badly written article he was more convinced that this was a rumor that was going way too far. Evelyn went camping on Friday and the article went on about how her parents were trying to keep this from the media and they hired a private investigator.

"Bullcrap," Dick mumbled tossing his phone aside. Rumors were fun at times but this was way too far. He sighed and made his way downstairs to get something to eat, Alfred made cookies the other night. And maybe after that he'd go to the mountain since he had no homework.

His thoughts were interrupted when he nearly ran into Bruce, "Oh crap sorry," Dick apologized. He really needed to pay more attention to where he was going, he'd been all over the place lately.

"I was just going to look for you," Bruce replied.

Oh crap....what'd he do this time? He had already gotten in trouble awhile ago for setting off fireworks in the bathroom with Wally. Yeah....not one of his brightest moments.

"We were just invited to a dinner party," Bruce didn't seem to be too happy about it.

"With who?" He asked, did a chick invite Bruce out or something? And why the hell did he have to come along?

"Daniel Crawford. He was the host of the charity ball that was held hostage over the weekend. He's redoing it tonight," Bruce explained.

Dick sighed, "Oh....do I have to go?" He asked. He really didn't want to go...

"It would be rude if you didn't show up," Bruce frowned.

"Fine....so it's tonight?" He really hated all this fancy stuff he had to go to every once and awhile. It was incredibly boring and to be completely honest most of the other people there were complete assholes. All more concerned about their image and money....ugh. Those were his least favorite people.

"We'll be heading out in two hours," Bruce then walked away and Dick groaned.

He hated Mondays a lot more now.

_______________________

Dick followed Bruce into the large building and he tried not to scowl. He probably already looked like he was dying inside....he felt like he was dying inside to be honest. Loud crowds of gossiping women with strong and disgusting smelling perfume he could smell from miles away, ugh headache in the making.

And it was so crowded in here. Instead of being held in some sort of venue this fancy get together was at the guys house, sure it was big. But not big enough for the amount of people that were in here. There had to be at least two hundred people in here.

"Ah! Mr. Wayne!" An excited voice cried out, "It's so good to see that you've made it!"

Bruce seemed to have to force a smile out, and he shook the man's hand. The man was quite....interesting looking. He was quite tall and he was...a larger man and he had no hair. But the weird thing about this guy was that it looked like he had scratch marks on the side of his face. Like he pissed off a cat or something and then afterwards tried to hide the marks with makeup or something. He didn't do a good job, "It's a pleasure to be here, Mr. Crawford," Bruce replied. It sounded like an obvious lie and he could tell by the awkward handshake they had....that they didn't like each other too much. Or maybe that Crawford guy was just awkward?

Crawford smiled and showed his yellow teeth (gross) and turned to Dick and his smile only widened. "Hello, you must be Richard!" Crawford grinned and instead of being a normal person and giving him a handshake he pulled Dick into a really uncomfortable hug.

Dick was kinda creeped out and the hug was incredibly uncomfortable so he pulled away and noticed that Bruce was gone and across the room mingling with some ladies. Damn you, "It's a pleasure to meet you....Sir," Dick replied looking back at Crawford who seemed to have gotten closer to him. Oh god he could smell the guys breath whenever he opened his mouth. That was gross.

"Oh the pleasure is mine," Crawford responded his smile was at jokers level now. "I've always wanted to meet you, I've heard quite a bit about you." Dick just awkwardly nodded greatly uncomfortable. And kinda creeped out. "It's so nice that Mr. Wayne took you in after what happened to your parents." Crawford then put a hand on his shoulder, "If I had been in Gotham at that time I would have loved to take you in."

By now Dick was used to hearing people say how lucky he was that Bruce took him in. And it really made him feel like a charity case. But this guy....holy hell. This guy was incredibly off and he could tell it wasn't genuine. The guy was probably disgusted that 'Circus trash' was even near him. Because Dick was kinda starting to think that was why this guy was so weird.

Most definitely a rich snob.

"I'd love to get to know you better, but I've got more guests to greet." Crawford frowned, "I hope to see you again soon Richard." He then gave him an unsettling smile and walked away and Dick sighed a breath of relief.

This night just got a bit more bearable now that he was gone.

_________________________________________

What made her parents think that camping in Bludhaven was a good idea? What made her think it was a good idea to go along!? She really regretted going camping with them because she knew if she had just stayed home she wouldn't be here stuck with some crazy man. She covered herself with a thin blanket and bit her lip. She wasn't hurt, just really shaken up. Was this what it felt like to be kidnapped? 

Obviously. 

She sighed and stared at the plain white brick walls, she had been stuck in this small room for who knows how long. She'd lost track awhile ago or at least it felt like a while ago, she really couldn't keep track of time. And she really couldn't remember how she got here of course she knew she was kidnapped. But she didn't know how since all she could remember was going to sleep in the cabin she had been staying in, and then waking up here with a terrible headache and a terrifying man standing over her. 

She looked down at her nails dry blood under them. She made sure to scratch the hell out of his gross face and he seemed pissed. But he didn't hurt her which she honestly found odd. He said something around the lines of her being too pretty to ruin. Evelyn shivered and looked up at the door when it opened and an unfamiliar man walked in. He was incredibly short, had a long face and an incredibly crooked nose. Why were criminals always so ugly? The man smiled and grabbed her by her hair, "Time to go to your new home," The man said starting to drag her out of the room and into the hall. 

"Hey let me go! Ow, what?!" She screamed trying to get him to let go of her hair. And after a few seconds he let go and pushed her to the floor and another man came up to her with a baseball bat and before she could scream he hit her in the head. 

"Shit I think I hit her too hard," The man with the bat said frowning. 

"Eh as long as her insides are alright she'll sell for enough," The crooked nosed man said shrugging.


	2. Chapter 2

"This is a horrible idea," Roy said frowning, watching as Wally and Dick tossed another case of Mountain Dew into the shopping cart. 

"Shh, this is a genius idea." Wally smiled, grabbing another case, at the moment they were at Walmart raiding the soda aisle and putting as much mountain Dew in the cart as they could. Why may you ask? Because it was Saturday and after a 'stressful' week, Wally and Dick decided to have a 'fun' weekend full of stupid shenanigans. 

"You're both idiots," Roy grumbled. 

"Don't be a killjoy Roy, you know you want to swim in mountain dew too." Dick smirked grabbing the last case of mountain dew left. He then stepped back and counted the cases, "Alright I doubt 15 cases is enough," He mumbled. "Wanna hit the other Walmart?"

"Hell yeah," Wally smiled giving Dick a hi-five. 

"No this is enough." Roy rubbed his temples, why did he agree to driving these guys around today?! Oh yeah because he had to keep an eye on the two since whenever they hung out something always exploded. 

"Fine we'll just buy all the marshmallows here then..." Wally then started to push the heavy cart to the isle with all the sugary stuff in it. 

"What why!?" Roy hissed stopping Wally. 

"So we can melt them and mix them into the mountain dew, duh," Dick replied appearing next to him with a bag of marshmallows in hand. 

Roy scowled and grabbed the bag of marshmallows and tossed them aside, "No this is enough." 

"But ROOOOOOOOOOOYYYYYYYYYYY," Wally whined like the mature teenager he was. 

"No, this is enough." 

"KillJoy," Wally frowned.

"Sor-" Roy was about to say but was cut off by the sound of someone dropping something heavy and they turned around and saw a man frantically picking up a bunch of cans. Roy sighed and turned back to Wally, "Sorry but that's a stupid idea.....and Bruce will kill you both."

"Why would he do that?" Dick asked. 

"I know you both are planning on doing this at the manor," Roy said pushing the cart to the checkout. 

"Dangit, you ruin all the fun!" Wally said crossing his arms. 

Roy just rolled his eyes and got in line at a checkout, of course only two where open and the lines were huge. So they'd be here awhile. Wally was silent and a small smile appeared on his face and he went to Dick and nudged him, "Wanna go find some snacks?"

Dick raised his eyebrows, "We ate alrea-'' He paused when he saw the look on his face. "Oh sure, hey Roy. Wally and I are going to find some snacks for tonight," Roy just sighed and the two took that as an okay and they walked away. And when they were out of sight Dick turned to Wally, "We're grabbing the marshmallows aren't we?" 

"Yeah, we're gonna die tonight."

Dick laughed and walked to where the marsh mellows where, "The worst that's gonna happen to me is I gotta go to another stupid party or something," He said grabbing as many bags of marsh mellows as he could. 

"That's pretty much death," Wally said cringing, "Being around rich snobs." 

"Rich snobs aren't that bad, on Monday I went to one. And there was just a creepy old guy..." Dick shuddered. "Didn't help that it was painfully boring there," He said scowling.

"Betcha 50 bucks he's a pedophile," Wally replied grabbing the last of the marshmallows. 

Dick was about to reply but went silent and frowned, "Do you see that guy?" He whispered. 

Wally raised his eyebrows and looked to where Dick was looking and saw a guy looking at the floor. "Uh....."

"That's the guy that dropped a bunch of cans when we were getting the mountain Dew...." Dick mumbled. 

The man looked up and paled when he saw them looking at him and he scurried off, "Dude he looks like he got punched in the nose." 

"Yeah..." Dick bit his lip, "Lets go Roy is probably getting annoyed that we left him in the line." Dick then walked to the front of the store and Wally followed after him. 

____________________

"Why did Roy let us do this....." Wally looked at the mess they made in Dicks bathroom, marshmallow everywhere and the bathtub was full of mountain dew....and marshmallow. "HE'S SUPPOSED TO KEEP US OUT OF TROUBLE!"

"We done goofed," Dick said staring at the mess, "We done, diddly goofed." 

"Alfred's gonna be so mad," Wally paled just thinking about Alfred's wrath. 

"And Bruce will kill us...." Dick said biting his lip. Roy had warned them that this was a stupid idea, and well of course it ended in disaster. (Ah the joys of being young and dumb) "I'll go get the cleaning stuff.....don't make the mess bigger." 

"I can add this to the list of what not to do in a bathroom......right next to fireworks in the bathtub." Wally shook his head. Dick just sighed and went into the hall and started to make his way downstairs to where Alfred had all the cleaning stuff. He was honestly glad that Bruce and Alfred weren't home because that gave him time to get this mess cleaned up. 

He walked down the stairs and froze when he heard a door slam shut. He narrowed his eyes and slowly made his way down the stairs being as quiet as he could. It sounded like it came from down here......not a good thing considering no one was down here but him. He scowled and walked into the kitchen and everything was normal in here. "Huh..." Maybe a window was just open and the wind made a door slam? 

There was no one down here and he knew no one could get in here. Security was obviously the best......and who the hell would want to break into Wayne Manor? Well someone with a death wish. He just sighed and opened a closet door and grabbed a mop and some other cleaning supplies and made his way upstairs. 

He really didn't want Bruce to see the mess they made......yikes. 

________________________

He didn't feel right. 

All weekend he had this creeping feeling that he was being watched. Like someone was following him everywhere he went. It got to the point where he'd check behind doors and curtains in every room he had gone into in the manor. 

Although he felt the worst in his room. The moment he went into his room the hair on his arms stood up and he felt wrong. He felt like there was something just creeping on him, watching him from outside his window. 

He couldn't even sleep. 

Hence why he was currently trying to take a nap in study hall. But that wasn't really going to well, everyone was incredibly loud. And by everyone he meant a group of girls sitting behind him, it was really annoying and it wasn't really helping boost his mood. 

He wanted to tell them to shut up really badly. But that would end terribly considering one of the girls was dating some 'badass' who really liked to slam his locker shut right when he was trying to get stuff out of it. 

He'd always make fun of his name too. 

HA you're named Dick. HA HA, I'm mature. 

But it was obvious who the real dick was. And he secretly wished someday that 'bad ass' would break the law or something. Rot in juvie or something. 

Oh well..... In the meantime he should probably try and sleep for at least five minutes? He felt dead on his feet. 

"Dick wake up!" 

Dick sat up quickly half awake and rubbed his eyes, "Huh?" He then sighed and saw Barbara sitting in front of him a scowl on her face. "Five more minutes?" 

She rolled her eyes, "You look dead inside...." She commented, placing a giant math textbook on his desk. He sunk down in his seat and groaned, he felt dead inside to be honest. He really had a shitty sleep. "Well do you wanna help me with my math homework....?" She questioned a hopeful smile on her face. 

"Come on Babs," He whined, he was running on an hour of sleep. And he already had math today, he didn't really want to deal with even more math right now. His head was killing him, and he wanted nothing more than to curl up under a mountain of blankets and sleep. 

"Please?" She asked, "You know i suck at this advanced stuff...." 

"And you know I don't do homework for other people," He replied. 

"Unless the other people threaten to shove you in the gym lockers," She said scowling. 

He sighed, "That was one time...." Not really his proudest moment but he had no choice. Not like he could fight them or anything. He would probably win.....but he'd in a ton of trouble from Bruce. So he had to play the weakling here.....ugh. 

"If i shove you in a locker would you do my homework?" Barbara asked an innocent smile on her face. 

"I'd rather be dead then do your homework Babs," He grumbled standing up. 

"Where are you going?" She asked frowning. 

"Getting something to drink, i'll be back in a few," Came his mumbled response, he walked to the door grabbed a hall pass and walked down the empty hall. He wasn't actually getting a drink, he just wanted some peace and quiet. He felt like he was going to go insane in that room. 

School was killing him slowly and painfully. 

Dick sighed and leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. He knew he probably wouldn't have a good sleep tonight either. He didn't have time to lay down and do nothing, he had to head to the mountain tonight. He promised M'gann he'd fix her computer, apparently she lent it to Wally and it got a bad virus and so far she couldn't find anyone who'd fix it for a decent price. 

So he offered to do it for free....like two weeks ago. So he wanted to get it done and over with now and not procrastinate. 

Dick frowned and turned away from the wall and started to make his way down the hall and back to class but was stopped when he felt a hand grab his shoulder out of nowhere. He jumped and quickly turned around and grabbed the wrist of whoever grabbed him. And he furrowed his brows when he saw a short girl standing there. She had big hazel eyes, and a curly mess of blonde hair. And she looked absolutely terrified. 

"A-Andrew?" The girl whispered, "Are you okay? Did he get you yet?" She asked, becoming louder. 

Dick raised his eyebrows incredibly confused, and let go of her wrist and stepped back, he had no idea who this girl was. "Uh sorry i think you've got the wrong person...." He replied slowly. Who was Andrew? Or well which one? It was a common name in this school. 

"D-Don't you....? Do you remember? A-Andrew?" She reached for him but Dick stepped away and she stepped back quickly and she seemed to be equally confused. "Uh, I'm sorry. W-Wrong person, m-my bad. Forget you ever s-saw me." She then turned away and ran down the hall and was soon out of sight. 

He just stood there completely still and insanely confused. What....just happened? Could what just happened even be explained? 

Drugs? Yeah that could explain that, kids here always were doing drugs. Not even the wealthiest of Gotham were safe from drugs and bad influences. Those rich families could try and try all they want. But this was Gotham and here no one was safe from that stuff. 

That girl was a prime example. 

Such a shame. 

Dick sighed and headed back to his study hall. He only had one more class after this then today was over. Well over for school....he still had a ton of stuff he had to do. 

Sleep could wait a little more....sadly. 

____________________________

Robin scowled and looked up at Wally, "What did you do to this laptop......?" He asked looking back at the spazzing out screen. "I've never seen anything like this...." The moment he turned it on it started to go all crazy. He couldn't click anything and it took ages for anything to even load. 

"Can you fix it...?" M'gann asked hopefully. "I really need this for school." 

Artemis walked into the living room and crossed her arms. "Lesson 1, don't lend anything to Baywatch," She said rolling her eyes. 

"Hey!" Wally cried out greatly offended, "All i did was go on Reddit!" He scowled and glared at Artemis, "I didn't think that'd give the laptop a virus," He grumbled sitting down on the couch next to Robin.

M'gann just frowned "So you can help it...?" She asked, "It's not bad?" 

Robin yawned and bit his lip, he really should have dealt with this sooner. Today was not a good day. "Uh....good question." 

"So you can't?" Wally asked moving closer so he could see the screen, "It doesn't look that bad..." 

Robin really would rather be doing anything else but this right now. "Wally......this looks like you went on every free movie scam website that exists, or the dark web." He replied scowling. "This is absolutely terrible." He was just being brutally honest right now. 

"Well sorry......someone cranky," Wally said standing up. "What's your problem?" He asked. 

Robin narrowed his eyes, "I'm not cranky." 

Wally huffed, "Dude i know you better than anyone. You're cranky," He said crossing his arms sending a less threatening glare right back at Robin. 

Robin took a deep breath. "M'gann I'm not sure if i can fix this.....if i can it may take awhile." He completely changed the subject of the conversation. Something he was quite good at. 

"Oh..." M'gann said sadly, "That's okay I guess...." 

"Good going Wally," Artemis sneered. 

Robin rubbed his temples and closed his eyes. He was currently trying to block out Artemis and Wally's bickering. Those two fought non-stop. It wasn't pleasant to hear and right now Artemis was really feeding the fire between her and Wally. 

"Team report to the briefing room," Batman's voice echoed throughout the mountain.

Wally and Artemis stopped the bickering and Wally immediately zoomed off towards the briefing room, Artemis, Conner, and M'gann following after him. Robin stayed on the couch for a few seconds and sighed closing the poor laptop. He stood up and went to the briefing room and stood next to Wally. And bit his lip, he really hoped this wouldn't be a super serious mission. Or way too long, he really was not feeling great right now. 

"On the outskirts of Bludhaven is an abandoned factory, and i have reasons to believe drugs are being smuggled from there to Gotham and other major cities," Batman started to explain. 

"So.....we just stop a drug ring?" Artemis asked scowling. "Isn't that something the police can handle?" She didn't see why they had to take care of this. Sounded pretty small to her. 

Batman sent a glare her way and she shut her mouth and crossed her arms. "I also have reasons to believe that a small human trafficking ring is being organized there," He said scowling. 

"Human trafficking?" M'gann asked, seeming to be completely clueless, "What's that?" She questioned. 

"Human trafficking is when people are sold for various reasons, like for their organs or for labor," Robin explained, "Or for much worse." 

Batman nodded, and M'gann's eyes widened. "T-That's horrible! Why would people sell other people?" 

"People are sick sometimes," Artemis mumbled. 

Batman cleared his throat getting the team's attention so he could continue speaking, "I've been monitoring the factory for the past month, i don't believe there are people in there. But i do believe there is evidence that could help with figuring out what exactly is going on." He paused, "The factory and the property it is on is about 50 acres, so you'll have to break into two teams, but i trust you all can decide on what to do about that." 

The team nodded.

_________________ 

"This place doesn't seem too big," Kid Flash said frowning. They had just arrived and exited the bioship. "Do you think it's a good idea to split up?"

"There could be other buildings out here," Robin spoke up. "We can have one group go inside the main building and another out here." At the moment it was just Superboy, Miss Martian, Artemis, Kid Flash and Robin. Aqualad wasn't here today. He was probably in Atlantis helping Aquaman . "We can have Miss M and Superboy out here," He suggested. 

"Then you and I could go into the main building?" Kid flash asked. 

"Artemis to," Robin replied. 

Kid Flash groaned and Artemis just smirked, "And don't you dare fight," Robin said glaring at them. They've been fighting like an old married couple. "Now let's go, we can't be here too long." Artemis and Kid Flash nodded and Miss M and Superboy went to start with walking around the perimeter. 

"So we gotta go inside the creepy factory?" Kid Flash asked frowning. 

Robin sighed, "Yup," He said starting to walk over to the old building. The outside was an absolute wreck, a lot of the windows were missing and some of the weeds were almost as tall as Superboy. "Let's get going, we shouldn't be out in the open." 

"Least there's a gravel path," Artemis mumbled following Robin, "The grass is probably crawling with snakes and stuff...." She shuddered. Snakes....snakes were gross. 

"Ha the grass is almost as tall as you Rob, we'd probably lose you in there," Kid Flash teased nudging him but he frowned when he got a glare in return. "Sheesh my bad..."

"....Can we just focus on the mission please?" Robin asked, the lack of sleep was really making him testy. And he'd rather not be in Bludhaven in an abandoned Factory where people were possibly being sold for their organs. Not a pleasant thing. 

"Sorry...." Kid Flash scowled.

Artemis looked at the door once they arrived at one of the side doors. "Someone's most definitely been here recently. This door looks brand new compared to the rest of this building," She commented. She figured that was an obvious sign that this place was being used for something, why else would a brand new door be here while the rest of the building was rusted and falling apart? Hell this looked like it had been abandoned for a century. 

"Then we should be cautious." Robin stepped back and looked up hoping maybe there was another entrance to this place. This door could possibly set an alarm off. "The door might set something off, I say we go through a broken window. Less risky." The windows wouldn't set anything off. They were smashed in. 

"Good idea," Kid Flash replied. 

Robin didn't waste any time and he quickly made his way to a window and easily climbed inside and he soon found himself in a very dark hallway glass littering the floor along with old nails and bits of the cracking ceiling and tile. "Damn this place is gross...." Artemis scowled taking out a flashlight. 

Robin nodded and turned on his flashlight, "It's like something out of a scary movie," Kid Flash mumbled standing next to him. 

Robin walked over to the door and looked at it, this was a heavy duty door. Someone was trying to keep other people out but they were clearly idiots. The windows were all smashed.....so this door was not really helping. He looked to the ceiling and frowned, wires were going from the door and up into the ceiling. "There's gotta be something on the second floor." 

"There's probably a lot of stuff on the second floor, the third too, and maybe the fourth." Artemis said looking around, "Maybe we should split up. So we can cover more ground quickly?" 

"There doesn't seem to be anyone here," Kid Flash replied. "So we wouldn't really be in any danger." 

"I don't think that's a good idea," Robin responded heading down the hall. "There could be security here..." He was all for getting this done quickly he was exhausted. But he did not want anyone getting caught. This was a big deal this place may be empty right now but they could never be too sure. People who ran drug trafficking and human trafficking rings were usually really cautious, although whoever was running this place was a idiot. This place was easy to get into. 

"Robin, I doubt there's any security here." Kid Flash said starting to walk up the stairs that lead up to the second floor, "If there was we'd be spotted by now." 

"He's got a point," Artemis frowned, "And it really hurts to agree with baywatch." 

"Fine," Robin said sighing. He really didn't want to argue, "Be cautious, be very, very, very cautious," He couldn't stress that enough. "I'll take the second floor, Artemis the third, and KF you take the bottom floor. If someone is approaching this place you could quickly warn us and hide." 

KF and Artemis nodded and wasted no time with getting where they were supposed to be. So Robin quickly went to the second floor. 

This building was eerie. It had this heavy feeling of dread or like a heavy dark cloud hanging over it at all times. He sighed and walked into the first room he saw. It was a small room that seemed to be a storage room, and it was pretty empty aside from a desk in the middle of the room and an old fold up chair. And it seemed that someone was in here very recently, since the floor that was caked in dust had a trail of footsteps leading to the desk and back into the hall. "Huh..." He walked over to the desk and opened the drawers and found a flashdrive. Possible information? Hopefully, it had to be something at least. Why else would a flashdrive be in a creepy old Factory that was abandoned in the 60s? 

After digging through the desk for about five minutes he found nothing else so he went back into the hall and checked every room he found. This went on for about 30 minutes, thankfully in that period of time nothing had gone wrong. Artemis came and handed him a flashdrive she had found in a room full of old newspapers, and Kid Flash still hadn't found anything. So he moved to the fourth floor and Artemis took his place downstairs after clearing the third floor. 

Everything was going fairly smoothly. 

And for some reason that felt wrong. Deep deep down Robin still had that bad dreaded feeling he had the night before. He felt watched, very watched. Like someone was looking over his shoulder at all times. 

Thankfully this mission was almost over. 

Robin was about to turn back and make his way downstairs but instead he went the opposite direction of the stairs. He felt like he missed something. 

"Yo Rob, Miss M and Conner found a cabin a little ways behind the main building," Kid Flash said over the com link. 

"A cabin?" He replied slightly confused, hey wasn't this place pretty close to a campground?

"Do you want us to go inside?" Miss Martian asked.

"No we'll tell Batman about it, that may not even be a part of this property. A campground is around here somewhere....that could be a part of it." He said stopping in his tracks. "Uh i found something, one sec." 

There was a door that looked just like the one that was downstairs. How did he not see this? He could have sworn he walked down here already. "Hm..." A door like this could only mean one thing. There HAD to be something in there. 

He went over to the door and looked it over, it didn't seem to be connected to any kind of alarm or security. He slowly put his hand on the door knob and he jumped when the door just opened. He stood there frozen for a moment but after a minute he walked into the room. 

Unlike the other rooms in this building it wasn't covered in dust. And this room was fully furnished, it had bookshelves and cabinets filled with files. And a desk with a computer and papers all over the place. He walked over to the desk and saw a desk lamp and he turned it on. Place had electricity? Duh there was a computer here. 

He looked down at the papers and raised an eyebrow, files with names on them. He picked up a file and opened it and there was a picture of a girl. She had straight black hair, blue eyes. And she looked very familiar.....he just couldn't put a name to this face. He set the picture aside and his eyes widened, it was a detailed document of Evelyn Myers, the girl who went missing recently...the girl who everyone was talking about at school. This document had her name, age, her date of birth....the time she was born. Where she was born, who her parents were. Her ethnicity, height, weight......and a list of places she hung out or had been seen. There were even pictures of her in her bedroom? In her house?! At school?! 

It didn't take a genius to figure out what the hell was going on here. She was being stalked and she'd been abducted. He put the file aside, Batman was most certainly seeing that. That was disgusting and beyond disturbing. 

He'd never understood how some people would target children, and he really hoped that now that they had this information maybe this could give them a lead on to where she and other possible victims were being kept.....maybe they'd find her? He hoped so, no one deserved to be kidnapped and sold. Sickening. 

Robin dug around the desk for about three more minutes and then moved onto the filing cabinets. And was honestly surprised by how organized all the files were. They were alphabetized. He went through all of them, one by one. 

"Yo Rob, are you alright?" Kid Flash asked. 

Robin yawned, "Yeah one moment," he replied. He was almost done with the files under F, he was taking notes of all the names in these files. All were kids between the ages of 9-16. Pretty sick, "I found a room full of files and names on the second floor." He explained. Now to move on to G, he opened the file and he felt his heart stop. 

Grayson

He stayed there still for who knows how long, just staring at the last name on the file. Grayson, Grayson. He didn't want to open it, he didn't want to. 

"Rob you okay? You got all quiet? You want us to head up there?" Kid Flash asked concerned. 

Robin was silent for a moment, "Y-Yeah....I-I'm fine. I'll be down in a moment," He lied. 

"Okay, don't be long. It's almost one in the morning," KF replied. 

Robin grabbed the file and opened it and he really wished he hadn't. Richard Grayson. Name, age, height, weight, family, his address, his school. His cellphone number?! And there were multiple pictures. Pictures of him with Bruce, at home, when he was younger, while he was at school. In his room.

This was not good. 

This was bad, very very bad. 

He was a target!? Where the people who were running this place after him?! He was obviously being stalked, just like Evelyn! He was an obvious target! Hell his name was underlined! That was bad! All of this was bad. 

He felt like he was going to faint to be completely honest. 

He knew what Human trafficking rings were, he knew what happened. He'd be dead within days if they got him. He quickly stood up and grabbed all the files he could carry, including the file with his own name on it. 

Looks like he was going to have another sleepless night tonight.


	3. Chapter 3

He didn't end up getting any sleep.

He didn't think he'd ever get more than an hour of sleep ever again after the mission.....he wasn't going to lie. He was scared he was very, very scared after finding out he was a target. Who wouldn't be terrified!? Knowing that you've been stalked for who knows how long is absolutely terrifying and he wanted nothing more than to just hide down in the batcave for the rest of his life.

Did that make him feel weak?

Hell yeah it did and he hated himself for feeling this way. But he wasn't sure how else he should feel...sure he was Robin, he worked with The Batman! He should be able to handle this, this shouldn't scare him! Bruce knew about this, he gave him the files and flash drives as soon as they got back.

It should make him feel better that Bruce knew about this. He was Batman...he made criminals wet themselves. But for some reason it made him feel even worse, he felt like this was his fault! Did he put himself at risk? Make himself worth something? Could he even do that? Was it just because Bruce Wayne adopted him?

His head hurt from all this non-stop thinking.

Dick rubbed his temples and opened his eyes and stared up at one of the many computer monitors they had in the batcave, when he said he wanted to hide down here for the rest of his life....he really wasn't kidding.

He'd been down here all week.

He didn't even go to school.

Not like he refused to go, if Bruce told him he had to go he'd go. He'd just be really paranoid but thankfully Bruce didn't want to take any risks and he decided it would be best that he stayed home.

So here he was sitting in the cave, pretty much running off just coffee. He had been working on some disappearances of some kids from a few years back. 10 kids missing from Bludhaven all of the missing kids had a lot in common with the kids who were being targeted now. Blue eyes, black hair, wealthy, and between the ages of 9 and 16, There was one 16year old female. And all she had for a name was Maria....and her case was odd, her body had been found while the others hadn't.

And what was really disturbing was that all her major organs were gone.

So he figured she hadn't been worth much alive and instead they used her organs to make profit. It was horrific it really was....but the world was cruel and the world did not give a damn about anyone or how they felt.

Very sad that was how things worked in the world. It seemed like the most promising people with the brightest futures always got the worst of it.

Dick sunk down in the chair he was sitting on and scowled. Aside from all that deep thinking he still didn't understand one major thing....why were kids being targeted? Sure organs and stuff...but kids? Maybe it was because they would last longer?

Dick cringed just thinking about all of the possible fates for those poor kids. He didn't want to think about that anymore, he didn't want to think about this entire situation at all.

"You've been down here for three days Dick," Bruce said, walking over to him.

Dick jumped not hearing him enter the cave, "I don't really want to go upstairs," He mumbled turning to him.

Bruce looked sad. "Dick, whoever put your name in that file....they won't get you-"

"How do you know that!?" He snapped interrupting Bruce. Bruce sighed and went silent for a moment. Dick scowled and stood up and he crossed his arms. "S-Sorry.....this whole situation has me on edge...." He mumbled. "I just want to figure out who the hell is behind this....before anyone gets hurt." He didn't want more kids to go missing. The sooner he figured this out the better.

  
"You need to focus on yourself right now," Bruce said sternly, "When's the last time you've eaten? Showered?!" He wasn't gonna lie...Dick looked like he hadn't showered all week. His poor hair.

Dick scowled, "I'm fine," He grumbled.

"If you don't go upstairs and at least eat something I'm going to get Alfred down here." Bruce really didn't want to let Alfred lose on him....but this was really the only threat Dick took seriously.

Dick paled, "You wouldn't....."

"I would, and I will," Bruce replied, crossing his arms.

Dick feeling quite defeated decided that he did not want to witness an angry Alfred. "Fine," He muttered standing up. "But if I end up disappearing it's your fault....." Of course he knew he was safe....but he still felt uneasy about going up there. What if a person popped out around a corner and caught him?

He'd probably punch the person....but still.

"I'll finish going through all the files and flash drives, okay?" Bruce said sitting down.

Dick sighed, "Thanks..." He replied heading upstairs.

Bruce was right.....he needed a shower. And some food.

_________________________________

He ended up getting a tiny snack before heading up to his room, and by tiny snack....it was just an apple. He didn't end up eating much of it though all he did was take a bite of it and then he tossed it in the trash. He was hungry but just thinking about food made him feel sick.

Dick sighed and turned the lights on in his room and slowly walked around the room checking every possible hiding place. After that he walked over to his window and looked out.

  
The pictures in the file on him.....the pictures were of him in here. So how did they get the pictures without him noticing? He wasn't on ground level, and the only thing near his window was a tree...and it was tiny. The branches would snap if anyone tried to sit on it.

And he kept his curtains shut most of the time....so how the hell did they do it? He wanted to know he wanted to know so he could maybe catch them if they came back?

He doubted they'd come back. They already had pictures much to his distaste. "Sick people," He murmured to himself as he walked to his bathroom. But he froze right in the doorway. He didn't want to go in there....what if someone was behind the shower curtain? And as soon as he walks in here they jump out?!

He took a deep breath and turned on the lights and he pulled the shower curtain open and no one was in there waiting to jump at him.

God he really had to stop with these stupid thoughts. He was just making himself more stressed out. He was fine, nothing was going to happen.

He was OKAY.

Dick shut the bathroom door and locked it. He still was paranoid...he turned away from the door and cringed at his reflection in the mirror. His hair was an absolute rats nest right now and he looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. Which was pretty true...

But damn his poor hair... maybe he should just chop it off? It was kinda long. Babs liked to braid little strands of his hair occasionally....so if he got a haircut that would stop. Thank god...

He turned away from the mirror and quickly turned on the shower got undressed and got in. He didn't plan on staying in here too long since he still wanted to work on the case some more.

Although after about 15 minutes he just stood there, enjoying the warm water. Maybe he could work on the case later? And maybe instead take a nap...yeah that was a good idea.

He deserved a nap.

A 12 hour nap. 

After about 1 hour in the shower he decided he should probably get out. It was unlikely that he'd used all the hot water but still.

Dick stepped out of the shower and was just about to dry off but froze when he heard a crash in his room. He paled and quickly covered himself with a towel and he just stood still. Trying to figure out if he actually did hear something or if it was possible that was he actually losing his mind.

He didn't know how long he stood in the middle of the bathroom still soaking wet. But he bit his lip when he heard a thumping noise and the doorknob jiggled.

Thank god he locked it.

Okay shit, what was he supposed to do?! He didn't have any clothes. The clothes he did have were already down the laundry chute, and he didn't have any weapons.

Wait no he did! He quickly grabbed his razor and stared at the door, his eyes wide. Whoever was on the other side was really desperate to get in. They were banging on the door and kicking at it.

But the banging stopped when Bruce's terrifying yell could be heard and there was a loud crashing noise. And then everything went eerily silent. And just when Dick thought he could breath there was a knock on the door.

"Dick? Are you there? You okay?!" Came Bruce's worried voice.

Dick relaxed and dropped the razor and unlocked the door and opened it and scowl  
______________________

"So you're telling me some person got into your room while you were in the shower?" Barbara asked, her eyes wide, "That's wild...." 

Dick scowled and nodded, at the moment he was down in the kitchen while Bruce was talking to Commissioner Gordon about what had happened the night before and Barbara followed along because she 'missed' him. And by missing him, he meant she wanted Alfred's cookies or something. "Yup...." He really just wanted whoever was stalking him to screw off, this was a nightmare.

"Why didn't you fight back or something? If anyone ever dared to sneak into my room, I'd punch their teeth out," She commented, taking a bite of a cookie. "And it's probably a creepy person who doesn't even know how to count.... Like all the criminals in Gotham are idiots who dropped out of middle school."

"I don't feel like dying Babs, plus I just got out of the shower... What was I supposed to do? Strangle them with a towel?" He replied, "And there's no way I could have won that fight." Well, he could have.... If he wasn't in the shower. But thank GOD he locked the bathroom door. Best decision he's made this month.

"Ask them politely to stop stalking you?" Barbara said, laughing, she wasn't taking this seriously. And it was starting to irritate Dick a lot. "Like you could say, 'Oh, sir/miss do you mind being friendly? And not stalk me while I'm in the shower? I do not appreciate pedophiles watching me, thanks!'"

Dick nearly choked on the cookie he was eating, "What the hell!?" He cried out, laughing, okay he didn't expect to hear that. "Pedophiles?!"

"Giant pedobear," Barbara said, smirking. "Just standing under your window with a camera, just picture that."

"I'd rather not-"

"PICTURE IT!" She yelled, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him, "Smile or something, you look dead inside and it makes me sad."

Dick pulled away and looked at her, his eyebrows raised, "Are you doing drugs..... Without me?" He asked, pretending to be offended, he was actually a bit less annoyed by Barbara and a bit more thankful for her being here. Believe it or not she was making him feel a tad bit better. Sometimes listening to your weirdest friend could really help lighten the mood.

Barbara just laughed and leaned back in her chair, "So I have an idea it could lighten the mood some more." She smiled brightly. "So I was thinking maybe you can come to my place and we could watch movies or something? Whoever is stalking you wouldn't find you there. And maybe you could actually get more than an hour of sleep?"

Dick went quiet for a moment, he actually planned on going to the mountain since there was absolutely no chance of the stalker getting him there and he could always sleep there. "Sorry Babs, I'm just going to stay here," He replied. "I'd rather be here.... We have security."

She scowled, looking upset, "Security didn't stop the person from getting into your room," She replied. "But it's whatever..... Your choice."

"Sorry...." He knew he pissed her off, girls always got easily pissed off. Or at least she did, but hey, that's teenage girls for you, but not like boys were any better.

"Barbara!" Gordon walked into the kitchen, "We've got to get going, I've got some stuff I need to get done at the GCPD." Barbara frowned and stood up and waved at Dick and then followed her dad outside.

Yup, she was pissed.

_____________________

"We really need to buy more games," Wally mumbled as M'gann was putting away UNO cards, they had just finished seven rounds. M'gann winning every single round, "I'm getting bored with UNO all the time...." Usually he'd be playing video games with Robin but at the moment Robin was asleep on the couch. He walked into the mountain and sat down on the couch and within seconds he fell asleep.

He looked exhausted so Wally decided to just let him be. And he couldn't bother Conner because he was out doing who knows what, Artemis wasn't here and Aqualad was still in Atlantis. So all he had was M'gann.

And a game of UNO.

"Do you have any suggestions?" She asked, sitting down, "I could always pick some games up from a store soon."

"Does it have to be a game? Maybe a movie?" He was dying of boredom.

"A movie?" She asked.

"Yeah a movie. So maybe someday we can have a movie night?" He suggested.

M'gann was about to respond but looked up when Robin shuffled into the Kitchen where they were sitting. "Oh hey Robin!" She said smiling.

Robin just sat down on one of the stools, "Hi..." He said quietly.

"Dude, you look like you've gone all week without sleep," Wally said, frowning, "You okay?" He asked.

Robin was quiet for a moment, "I'm fine," He replied. "Just haven't had much sleep." One truth and one lie. He wasn't fine, he was being stalked by some creep. And he hadn't had more than an hour of sleep a night. "Things are crazy at home.... So decided I may as well just relax here.." Now let's hope no missions are assigned tonight.

  
"Thankfully the mountain is quiet today," M'gann said smiling. "Feel free to rest as much as you need!" She preferred the mountain when it was quieter so she didn't blame Robin for wanting to be here.

"Thanks," Robin said, yawning. The mountain was really the only place where he could let his guard down because he knew that whoever was after him couldn't get him here. What a relief. And he could maybe go through those flashdrives again and some of the files. Because he just wanted to get a lead on this case, anything! No matter how small.... He just wanted this to be done.

"So did you ever fix the laptop?" Wally asked, breaking the silence. "Or is it a lost cause?"

Robin shrugged, "I never got to finish working on it because of the mission we had." He sat up a bit, "I could try and see if I can help it if I have the time later."

"Really?" M'gann asked, she really didn't want to have to get another laptop. She just got the hang of it!

"Maybe if you didn't do stupid stuff on the internet you wouldn't have given the laptop a virus, Wally," Artemis huffed walking into the kitchen.

Wally scowled and threw a spoon at her nearly hitting her in the face, "Shut it Artemis!" He scowled. "I told you it was only Redit!"

Artemis scoffed and rolled her eyes and sat down, "Whatever you say Baywatch."

Robin sighed. The silence had been destroyed by a very cranky Artemis. Oh joy....

After listening to them bicker for about twenty minutes Robin decided he'd just go to his room. He didn't really have much in there, most of his stuff he used for missions were there and he occasionally slept in there. But only if he stayed here way too late.

And that wasn't very often.

Robin closed the door and sat down on his computer chair and closed his eyes. He was probably going to just go over the files some more, he brought them with him. Batman had copies of his own, so he didn't need to worry about him.

  
He grabbed a file off of his desk and it just happened to be the file on him. He didn't really understand why someone was targeting him, sure he was adopted by Bruce Wayne. He could be just wanted for ransom? Was that why mostly rich kids were being targeted? So they could get a high ransom from their parents?

He opened it and sighed and put it back down and rubbed his temples. This was a complete nightmare. Kids getting abducted..... No leads whatsoever. The only connections were that they were all rich, had blue eyes, and black hair.

Why? Why only that? Why not red hair? Brown eyes?

Robin bit his lip, maybe the person behind this preferred his victims looked like that? But why? Why would they care about what the victims look like if they use them for their organs or something?

Wait.

Oh shoot.

Maybe the reason why they've never been seen again is because they're still alive? And the 'undesirable' victims are used for their organs while the 'desirable' victims are used for their body?

Robin paled. It was disturbing how some people take advantage of people, shows how screwed up the world really is.

People selling people, using their organs, their innocence, all for money.

No words could express how sick that made him feel.

He also felt sick because he didn't know how to handle this situation. He found a connection between the victims and future targets. But he still had no idea how the victims were being caught, what led up to it. How exactly they managed to get all the victims details and INTO THEIR HOUSES FOR GODS SAKE.

This was so beyond frustrating he just wanted to flip a desk and scream.

But that wouldn't be a wise idea.

So instead he'd sit here for hours and try and find some sort of clue on where these kids are and who's behind this.

_________________

  
Wally sat on the couch and groaned, "So freaking boring here....." He grumbled scowling. M'gann and Conner had gone out on a date or something so it was just him, Artemis and Robin. If he was still here, that is.

"Go bother Robin," Artemis replied, not looking up from her phone. By now she was used to Wally's constant complaining.

"He's probably sleeping....."

Artemis looked up, her eyebrows raised, "Sleeping?" She asked, "Robin sleeping? I didn't think that kid slept at all...."

"Sometimes it seems that way," Wally replied, shrugging.

"Damn." Artemis turned off her phone and yawned. She loved to sleep, one of the best pass times ever. But of course school just had to ruin it.

"I think I'm gonna go look for him," Wally said standing up.

"Make sure he's not dead or something," Artemis joked laying down.

Wally just walked down the hall and knocked on Robin's rooms door. "Yo Rob you okay?" He waited about two minutes and then he opened the door (thankfully it wasn't locked) and wasn't too surprised to see Robin asleep.

His head was resting on his arm on his desk and papers were all over the desk. A complete mess. Wally frowned and walked over to him and was kind of concerned when he didn't wake up. Robin was usually a light sleeper. He was just about to leave and let Robin sleep, but a file caught his eye.

He quietly picked it up and opened it. "What....?" Why was all of Robin's information here? And wait.... Weren't these the files from that abandoned factory? He quietly went through the file and shook Robin, "Dude, wake up," He said frowning. He was going to let him sleep, but he needed to know what was up with this file.

Robin grumbled something and covered his head with his hood. "Dude!" He pulled the hood back and Robin lifted his head up and scowled, "What's up with this file?" Wally asked, holding it up.

Robin was quiet for a moment and he looked confused for a moment, still trying to wake up. "Oh," He snatched the file away from Wally and frowned, "Oh.... Well, I found it at the old factory along with a bunch of others..."

"You found a file with all your personal information and pictures of you in your bedroom, and you're not concerned?" Wally asked slightly upset, "This is a huge deal!"

"Of course I'm concerned, what do you think I've been doing all week?" Robin hissed, he really didn't want to argue. "I've been doing everything I possibly can right now to try and find a lead! And all I got is that everyone targeted, including me, is being targeted either because of our social status, or for our appearance."

Wally sat down on top of the desk and frowned, "This is a human trafficking ring behind this, maybe rich kids sell for more?" He suggested. "How sick."

Robin sighed, "Possibly, but why would appearance be a big deal? I mean I know what can happen to victims in trafficking rings.... But why would a bunch of people with the same physical traits be abducted around the same time?" He just didn't get it, "The people buying the victims couldn't all possibly like black hair blue eyes...."

"Could it be possible the same person is the one buying those people?"

Robin went silent for a moment, "That.... That could be possible," He murmured. What Wally suggested made sense. "But why would one person be targeting so many people at once?" He sighed, "That's what doesn't make sense, and why?" He rubbed his temples and stared at the many files on his desk.

"People get greedy," Wally shrugged, "I hope this whole mess is fixed soon though. You being a target....that's a big deal. Who knows what'll happen if they get you..."

"They won't," He said quickly. "They won't get me....." He said that to make Wally feel a bit better, but it sounded more like it was directed to himself. They won't, but what if they did? What then? He almost did get caught the other day, that was really close. But it wouldn't happen again. He'd be more careful.

Wally just nodded silently, he seemed to be at a loss for words with this why would someone target children? Who would stoop that low?

"W-" Robin was about to say, but was cut off by his phone ringing. He sighed and grabbed his phone and frowned when it was Bruce, "Oh crap." What'd he do this time?

"I'll let you take that," Wally then left and disappeared down the hall.

Robin quickly answered the phone, "Hello?"

"You need to get home," Bruce said quickly.

"Uh, what's wrong?" Robin asked, starting to gather his things.

"We have another charity ball we both need to attend," Bruce replied. 

"You've got to be kidding me...." He grumbled scowling. "Who's throwing it?"

"Daniel Crawford again."

Robin shivered hearing that name, "Ugh. Alright i'll be over in a few." He quickly hung up and groaned. Was it even a good idea that he goes out? What if something bad happened? There would be a lot of people...and you never knew.

But then again....he could keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Because he had a feeling something was bound to happen.

_____________

Dick scowled and stared up once again at the large and impressive mansion Crawford owned. "What is up with this guy and his parties?" Dick grumbled following Bruce up to the front, he was staying by his side the entire night. They both agreed that he shouldn't wander off because of the current issue with him being stalked. "He throws more parties than you do..." Bruce just shook his head and continued walking and Dick huffed already bored. He didn't want to be here, he felt so exposed out here. Like at any moment someone could just grab him or something. It was the most unpleasant feeling in the world....

And not even two seconds after the two of them had stepped inside the crowded mansion and an excited voice cried out, "Mr. Wayne!" Crawford walked quickly over to Bruce, pushing past a few guests. "I'm thrilled to see you could make it," He said smiling. Bruce smiled politely and shook Crawford's hand and then when the handshake went on for way too long Bruce pulled away and Crawford smiled awkwardly. "I actually have someone who's looking for you, Mr. Wayne."

Bruce raised his eyebrow, "Who?"

Crawford laughed and Dick was trying not to cringe, this whole conversation was awkward. "A friend of mine, you hired him a few months ago. Devon Marche," Crawford replied smiling widely.

Bruce nodded, "Devon. Where is he?" He asked.

"He's by the back," Crawford grinned. "He wanted to thank you personally for everything you've done for him and his daughter. You've helped them out a great deal."

"That was my intention," Bruce started to walk over to the back and Dick was just about to follow him but Crawford put a hand on his shoulder stopping him.

"Can't forget to greet you, Richard," Crawford purred, a ginormous grin on his pale face. "It's amazing to see you again, I'm thrilled you could make it!" His grip on Dick's shoulder tightened and Dick tried not to punch this gross old man.

"U-Uh, It's....good to see you too." Dick tried his best to sound as nice and sincere as he could. But it was a complete lie, he'd rather be dying than deal with this old man. This'll be the last time you see him, chill Grayson... be nice.

"Do you enjoy parties?" He asked, still holding onto his shoulder, a smile on his face.

Dick pulled away from his grip and bit his lip, "Uh depends on what kind of party it is...." He replied.

"Ah, so you don't enjoy these kinds of parties. The social ones," He laughed and shook his head. "I completely understand, when i was your age i hated being dragged to these boring social parties. I was convinced i'd die of boredom."

Well at least this was a normal conservationist so far, a hell of a lot better than the conversation they had at the last party. Dick nodded, "I just don't like not knowing most of the people at these parties...."

"You know me at least, that's a start," Crawford smiled. "Hopefully today you won't die of boredom. Dying young is unfortunate, you're to much of a good kid to die of boredom. You should have a long life ahead of you. Be useful, make good money," He said putting his hand back on Dick's shoulder. "You wouldn't want to die without doing anything of use, would you?"

Dick raised his eyebrows completely and utterly confused. What Crawford said, it just came out of nowhere. What did boredom have to do with dying without doing anything of use? What the hell was that supposed to mean? Was he being called useless by an old creepy man? "Of...course not?" He replied, still confused. What the hell was this old man smoking?

Something changed in how Crawford was looking at him and Dick felt incredibly uncomfortable and nervous. "You'll be useful Richard, sooner than you think. You have a good future ahead of you, you'll do good. You may not see it at first." He smiled, "Well I must go greet other guests. I had an amazing talk with you, and I do hope you and I get to know each other better in the future." He waved and then walked away leaving Dick alone.

Useful? Of course he was useful, he did plenty of useful things.....what the hell was that old man talking about? And what the hell did he mean when he said he'd be useful sooner than he thought? God why was he so creepy?

Was the world just set on making things uncomfortable for him this month? Old men, parties, stalkers.....

Shit. He almost forgot about that.

Dick bit his lip and looked around for Bruce. He really didn't want to be alone for too long; he didn't want to risk it. He knew it wasn't likely he'd be snatched in this crowded of an area but he still wanted to be near Bruce.

It took a full 15 minutes to Find Bruce at the front talking with who he assumed was the guy Crawford mentioned earlier. What was his name again? Dick walked over to Bruce and the guy looked away from Bruce and smirked, "Ah who's this?" He asked. The man was tall, taller then Bruce. He had messy blonde hair, and he had a slightly crooked nose. Looks like he got hit in the face in the past or something.

Bruce turned around and looked relieved, "This is Richard-" He started to say but the man interrupted him.

"It's great to meet you, I believe I've heard a lot about you." The man smiled and then turned his attention back to Bruce and Dick relaxed. Well at least this guy wasn't being all creepy like Crawford. 

________

Bludhaven was eerie at night, especially if you were in the woods alone. Robin yawned, he was currently in a tree staring down at a old shabby looking cabin. He decided he'd 'sneak' to the abandoned Factory, he was desperate to get some more information on the trafficking ring (And drug ring....oh joy) And he thought that this would be a fantastic time to do so. Get rid of some energy that he had left over from that insanely boring party.

Crawford had to stop throwing those shitty parties. Because he wouldn't go to them anymore, two times was enough. And he'd much rather be working on this case than be at a party.  
After he sat in the tree watching the cabin, he silently jumped down to the ground once he was certain no one was here and he made his way to the cabin. He wished he could have checked this place out sooner but at least he was here now. And since he was alone no one would slow him down.

And there would be no noise. Thank god.

He took a step onto the porch and the old wood creaked under his feet. This cabin had to be almost as old as the factory, or maybe it could even be a part of the campground that was about a mile away from this place? Robin took out a flashlight and walked over to the door and sighed.

The door had the same lock the door at the factory did. So whoever was or had been using the factory, had also used this Cabin. Good thing he decided to check this place out. Now lets just hope that this won't be a let down...Robin stepped away from the door and looked around for another entrance and he smiled when he found a basement door on the side and all it had was a stupid lock that could be easily picked. Clearly they didn't really think this through completely.

About one minute later he swung the basement Door open and looked down. No stairs, just a drop. He sighed and jumped down and was met with absolutely nothing. Just a normal creepy basement. Although there was a chair in the middle of the room and what looked like a broken light bulb hanging over it.

Other than that there was nothing down here.

This basement kinda felt like a scene from a horror movie. Like you'd wake up under that light bulb tied to a chair while a psychopathic murder stands over you. Okay not the best thing to be thinking about, especially since he was here alone.

He looked around some more even though he knew he wouldn't find anything of importance down here. So after that he made his way to the stairs that led upstairs. And he carefully went up them, most of the wood was rotted so he had to be careful where he stepped and be careful to not put too much pressure on one step.

He gagged when he finally got upstairs, the stench of rotting food was overwhelming. And flies swarmed around a pile of trash next to an old stained couch and beer bottles were everywhere. Disgusting. Robin stepped over the beer cans and trash and made his way to the kitchen and he covered his nose. The kitchen was even worse than the living room, the sink had a huge pile of dirty dishes and the sink water looked like it had been sitting there for months, and dead cockroaches floated in the water.

The wallpaper was peeling and the holes in the walls had bugs crawling in and out of them. The majority of the cabinets were broken....and the fridge was open with old food sitting in it. Most likely that was what was causing the disgusting stench.

This place most certainly belonged to someone involved in Human trafficking. Who else would leave behind such a horrendous mess? Disgusting pigs that deserved to burn in the fiery pits of hell, that's who.

He couldn't wait to put the pigs behind this in prison.Let them rot slowly and then die.

He scowled and narrowed his eyes when he saw a door with a lock on it. Huh well that had to be hiding something. He quickly made his way to the door and worked on picking the lock as fast as he could. He wanted to get away from this absolutely horrid stench, his nose was begging for mercy.

After about three minutes of working on picking that stubborn lock he got it open and he quickly went up the stairs, and he scowled when the stench only worsened. Seriously? Was it that hard to buy some fabreeze?

He sighed and walked down the hall, all the rooms were empty but the one room at the end had a door with another lock on it. It was like the pigs here wanted it to be obvious when they were hiding things?

He'd have to ask them if it hurts to be that stupid.

He quickly and easily picked the lock and slowly opened the door, and yelped in surprise when a bottle was thrown at his head and it hit the wall inches away from his head and shattered. "GET AWAY, PLEASE!" A girl sobbed hysterically. "I'M DONE OKAY!?"

Robin cursed his delayed reaction and looked over to where the voice and bottle came from and his eyes widened in horror when he saw a tiny girl curled up in the corner, her black hair covering her eyes. The poor girl was completely nude, covered head to toe in bruises, hickeys, and cuts, and she was chained to a bed a few feet away from her. "Please," She sobbed covering her head, "I c-can't do this anymore!" She curled up further into the corner, surrounded by trash, old clothes, condoms, beer bottles and needles.

She looked like she wanted death.

He was honestly at a loss for words, he didn't know what to say. He couldn't move, he felt like he was a deer in headlights. Okay deep breath, don't panic. You shouldn't be panicking, that poor girl should. You need to calm her down, get her out of here. Why was this so difficult to process!? He's seen so much worse before! Why did this shake him up so much?! Maybe because this could happen to you....

Robin took a deep breath and slowly walked over to her and stopped so he wasn't too close to her. "It's alright, I'm going to get you out of here I promise," He said as calmly as he could.

The girl slowly looked up her bloodshot blue eyes glaring daggers into his eyes. "Y-You're a liar, w-we never get out of here," She hissed, her voice trembling. "Once he has us, once he gets that damn collar on you. You never get away from him unless you want your brain to fry." She moved her hair showing what looked like to be a shock collar tightly around her bruised neck. "I'm nothing but a worthless piece of shit now," She whispered curling back up so she could cover herself up as much as she could. "If you value your life, and your free will then you'll run away and never look back. Dye your hair. He'll want you." She shuddered, "Better hope you don't have blue eyes." She tugged on the collar and hissed in pain, "He likes kids who look like that...." She was pretty much rambling now.

Robin paled, "W-Who?" He asked, "Who is He?" Having a name would really help him out right now, and he really really wanted to get this girl out of here but she wouldn't let him get any closer. And what she said about her brain getting fried made him a bit nervous. Okay he had to call Batman, right now.

"I don't know!" She yelled, "He won't tell me, he won't! I don't deserve to know, and neither do you!" She screamed and her eyes watered and she started to sob. "I don't know anymore, every day it gets worse," She whimpered, clutching her head.

"How long have you been here?" He asked softly, this poor girl.

"He's had me for I don't know how long......but here? I think a d-day, i don't know. Time g-gets squished together...i don't even know the date," She replied still crying.

He stepped back and decided now was the best time to call Batman, this girl needed to be saved. "Batman I found a victim from the trafficking ring," He said quickly.

"Where.Are.You." Batman growled, it wasn't a question. It was a order, he was fucking pissed.

"Sending coordinates now," Robin replied. He knew he was dead when Batman got here, but that didn't matter right now. He was glad he went here, he was happy he made this incredibly ridiculous and dangerous decision to go off on his own.

He just saved a life.

The girl watched him, her blue eyes wide, "Y-You're saving me anyways?" She whispered completely surprised, "You don't c-care that I'm-worthless? T-That I'm disgusting?!"

"I promised you I'd get you out of here, and I intend to keep that," He replied, smiling softly. "Whatever that man did to you, will never happen to you again."

A small smile appeared on her pale and bruised face and she latched onto his legs and sobbed, "Thank you, Thank you so much!" She cried happily, "Thank you!"

Because of his reckless decision a girl was going to be safe, go home to her family. And he could only hope that she'll know something that could get the disgusting pig who did this to her behind bars.

-line break-

"So you're grounded for two months?"

"Unfortunately," Dick mumbled, replying to Wally. He got back from Bludhaven about two hours ago and it was currently four in the morning. And thankfully Wally was up so he had someone to talk to on the phone. Thank God Bruce didn't take away his phone, he was only grounded from going on patrol. But of course he couldn't say that over the phone. They didn't know if the pig was listening somehow.

"Dude that blows, but you made a good decision....not studying for that uh test. Because your grade would have been way worse if you haven't. You totally saved a life," Wally replied. The only reason he had a idea on what happened was because he got to hear Batman yell at Robin for how careless he had been, when they both got back to the mountain by the zeta-beam.

"Mhm," Dick agreed, walking into the kitchen, he needed to get a glass of water and something to help him sleep. He was exhausted, and yet he still couldn't sleep. Not after what he saw today.

"So Dick, how are you feeling. After what happened?" Wally asked, "I don't know how bad that 'test' was, but I can imagine it wasn't good."

Dick opened the cabinet that had some Advil PM in it and he paused, "I'm alright Wally," He said, frowning. He then scowled when he thought he heard something down the hall. He turned around saw nothing and turned back to the cabinet. "I'll be o-" He started to say but was cut off when something grabbed him by his hair and caused him to drop his cellphone.

And before he could scream something covered his mouth and nose and the horrifying sweet scent of chloroform overwhelmed him, and then he felt something sharp prick him in the neck. "Sleep tight, Pretty Boy," A eerily familiar voice purred in his ear, and then everything went black.

Once HE has you, there's no hope...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback?


	4. Chapter 4

Waking up in a cold dark room wasn't pleasant.

Waking up in a cold dark room and finding you had nothing on wasn't pleasant.

And waking up in a cold dark room and finding you can't remember how you got here wasn't pleasant.

None of this was pleasant. It was terrifying, and yet he still couldn't bring himself to do anything about this.

He just stayed in the corner and stared at the wall.

He felt like his body was made out of lead or something. It hurt to move and he felt like someone had stomped on his head, he died and went to hell.

Was this hell?

How'd he get to hell?

Dick slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes and shivered, hell didn't look really....hellish? Where was the fire? He shivered and looked around the room, no fire? Then was this not hell? What would hell even look like?

Was hell even real?

Where was the devil? Did the devil put him in here? Did the devil make him feel all light headed? Confused? And was the devil making him cold? Did the devil take his clothes?

Did the devil even need clothes?

He rubbed his eyes and curled up in the corner, his teeth chattering. He'd have to punch the devil when he felt a bit better. The devil had to leave him alone and let him go home.

He'd be late for school...today was Monday right? He couldn't remember, maybe it was Friday? He hoped so....he wanted to sleep in.

Maybe go and chill with the team.

Work on figuring out who was behind that trafficking ring. He'd probably have to work on that soon, he didn't want to get caught or anything.

Dick furrowed his brows, wait.

Wait.

Wait a moment.

Dick sat up a bit straighter but clenched his eyes shut when a wave of nausea hit him. No, wait. No...where was he? What was he thinking about? The devil? Hell? Where was this? This couldn't be hell, that wasn't real?

He curled up and he felt like he was going to get sick.

They got him?

How? When? What happened?

He didn't understand how he got here, why he felt so off. Why his thoughts were all over the place, how they got him.

Why couldn't he remember?

Remember, think. Come on....

He remembered kids were going missing....black hair, blue eyes. He remembered finding out he was a target....he remembered being stalked.

And he remembered that cabin. And....that girl? Was that real? He remembered that now. She said something about someone, how there was no hope.

That was all.

He bit his lip and stared back at the wall.

What happened after that?

How did he get in this dark room? He couldn't see anything....it was pitch black in here. He could tell the floor was concrete and that the wall was brick. But he had no idea where the door was and he wanted to scream and figure out how to get out of here. But he felt like he was frozen...he just couldn't bring himself to move from this spot.

What the hell did they drug him with?

He took a deep breath. He needed to just stay calm...Bruce would see he was gone and he'd find him. He'd be out of here safe.

But what if he didn't? He couldn't just think everything would be okay...Bruce couldn't just snap his fingers and appear here to come and save him. And that scared him it really did. He knew what happened in human trafficking rings and he knew he'd either be dead by the time Bruce finds him....(If he does that is) Or he'll be sold like a object.

And honestly he'd rather be dead, take his organs. He didn't care, he'd be dead, he wouldn't feel anything.

Stop thinking about that.

Thinking about what could happen was not going to help him, all it was doing was making him feel even worse. And right now it would be best to just stay calm....or as calm as possible. He still felt incredibly out of it and he needed to focus on figuring out how to get OUT of here. Not how he's going to die.

He shivered, his teeth chattering and he tried to see if he could find a door.  
But he really didn't want to stand up, his arms still felt like jelly and his legs didn't feel that great either. So he doubted he'd be able to stand....and it didn't help that he had no idea where his clothes were.

So he just stayed in the corner and stared at the wall, he felt helpless.

____________________________

He ran down the dark alleyway nearly slipping in a muddy puddle, Gotham as usual was experiencing rainy weather and it wasn't the best weather to be trying to escape in. He ran as fast as his short stubby legs could go, mud and water splashing all over his black pants and his suit.

He wasn't getting caught, not yet.

He still had money to make, things to sell, and deals to make.

The man clenched his fists when he came to a dead end and he slowly turned around and prayed. He was as good as dead right now, they were going to get him. Slit his throat, sell his organs.

He failed and this was their punishment.

They didn't accept failure.

He paled when he heard footsteps and he looked in front of him, his eyes wide.

He saw them, at the other end of the alley was a figure and they were approaching him. He couldn't see any of their features, they were covered in a dark red cloak....the color of blood. He always thought they dyed them in the blood of those who've done wrong.

And he was next.

"You're cute," The figure said approaching him slowly, a sword dragging behind them. From their voice he could tell the person was a female. "Too bad your nose is crooked," She sighed, stopping a few feet in front of him.

"G-Get away, it wasn't my fault!" The man begged, pressing himself against the cold brick wall. He wasn't ready to die, he did his best and they had to understand! "I didn't know they had security at the place! I didn't think they could see the car!" He cried out.

The girl smirked and took out a gun and placed it against the man's skull, "You didn't know...?" She asked softly a smirk still on her pale face

He was glad he couldn't see her eyes, she was probably amused. "I didn't, I swear!" He trembled. He never thought a kid would scare him like this.

The girl laughed loudly, "Too bad, I don't really give a shit." She smiled and pulled the trigger, the sound of the gunshot echoing through the alley. She scowled and wiped off her face, she never liked the blood splatter but she did like the killing part.

Or well sometimes. She sighed and looked down at the crooked nosed man, his body was slumped over and half of his head was missing and blood was pretty much running down what was left of his face like a waterfall. "Gross..." She probably had bits of brain on her shoes.

Oh well the job was done, Father would be proud.

______________

He still had no idea where he was.

Or how long he's been here.

All he knew was he was freezing, it was dark in here, his entire body felt like jelly, and he was starving. He shivered, he knew should probably move away from the cold brick wall. That was not gonna help warm him up but he still didn't really feel like moving.

It was weird and how he felt confused him. Why was he reacting like this....? He was literally abducted and was probably going to be killed and have his organs sold, and here he was just sitting in the corner staring at the wall.

Not exactly doing what he should be doing.

He should be trying to get OUT, not just sit here. Yet he wasn't... but why!?

He felt really...off. So he knew he was probably drugged. But still.....

God his thoughts were everywhere.

Drugs? Murder, human trafficking, drugs....drugs...more murder.

Dick clenched his eyes shut and rested his forehead against the cold wall. He just wanted to go home, put some clothes on. Being naked wasn't enjoyable.

It was embarrassing.

And he felt like his entire body was ice.

Yay....how fun.

This entire situation was really fun. Although he was pretty thankful that nothing bad had happened yet. He remembered what that girl looked like in the cabin and he really was hoping that wasn't going to happen to him.

Psh, the guy behind this wouldn't do that to a boy.

Right....? Right? 

But then again the guy or girl....(Who knows) behind this sold the victims off...so anything could happen and that really wasn't good.

"Stop thinking," He muttered, digging his nails into his head. He had to stop thinking about what could happen and he had to focus on getting out of here as soon as possible. But that of course was easier said than done. He had no clothes on, how the hell was he supposed to just run out of here?! And if he did make a run for it somehow....running around without anything on was not a nice thought.

Dick took a deep breath. He had to just stay calm, he'd figure something out. And Bruce would find him...he was Batman after all he was the world's greatest detective. He'd find him and then he'd go home....safe.

He'd have his organs where they belong...inside him. And nothing else....

He shuddered, okay thinking about that was not a good thing to think about.

Stay.Calm

__________________________________________

He watched the security footage over and over again.

This was all he had for a lead at the moment, and for the past two days he'd been watching it non stop. Bruce rubbed his eyes and looked at it again, two days ago Dick went missing. And he was abducted in the kitchen and all he had was footage of a black plumbing van parked outside the manor.

A plumbing van for a plumbing business in Blüdhaven…

And the business just so happened to belong to a convicted Sex offender, Gaylord Hodge....what an unfortunate name.

He was going to hunt down Hodge so he could beat the living daylights out of him, and get his son back of course....but someone had beat him to it.

Just this morning Hodge was found dead in an alley, a bullet in his head execution style.

Hodge was murdered for a reason....

He had to be a pawn. Working for someone in the trafficking ring and he had to have messed up and that resulted in his death. Hope the bastard was burning in hell  
.  
So now the only lead he had was the only employee in Hodges plumbing business. Damian Dumas and that guy also had a criminal record, he beat his wife to death and then while working for Hodge he had put cameras in customers homes so he could creep on them.

Disgusting

But thankfully Mr. Dumas (Hehe) was still alive and he lived in Blüdhaven. And he lived three miles away from the factory he just had the team investigate and the cabin where Dick had found that girl.  
Bruce stood up, he'd find his son tonight. And he'd beat the shit out of whoever was behind this trafficking ring.  
And he'd smile.

That would be a first. 

_____________________________

"So I was thinking we could watch Titanic?" Artemis said laying down on the couch, "We have nothing else to do..." She was bored and she wanted to do something.

"What's that?" Conner asked.

"It's a ship that sank....I think," Megan replied shrugging. "Or is it only just a movie?" She hadn't heard of this movie yet.

"It's both," Artemis stood up and headed to where they kept all the movies and she quickly grabbed the movie. She was kinda expecting Wally to protest right about now but he stayed silent. He was sitting on the floor on his laptop and he'd been typing away for hours and he wouldn't say a word.

She was kinda worried to be honest. He was usually being annoying and here he was....being silent. "Uh Baywatch...you okay?" She asked while she put the movie in. She didn't care if no one else wanted to watch Titanic...she wanted too and that was enough.

Wally just stayed silent. Artemis frowned and handed Megan the remote giving her control on starting the move and she walked over to Wally and stood over him and raised her eyebrow, "Wait....that's not your laptop...." She mumbled.

"It's not," Wally grumbled, his eyes still glued to the screen.

Artemis was growing really concerned now, he was acting very un-Wally like now. "Who's is it?" She asked.

"Robin's," He replied glaring at Artemis. "Can you be quiet now?" He hissed, he really didn't want to talk, he was really busy right now. And he was not in the greatest mood.

"Jesus, what the hell is up with you?" Artemis crossed her arms, "You're being an asshole for no reason, and I don't think Robin would appreciate you using his stuff.....and how the hell did you get through his million passwords?!" Uh not that she ever tried to get through those passwords before....heh.

"I'm helping him out right now," Wally grumbled trying not to punch her. He wasn't in the mood to bicker with her; he was really stressed out right now. And he wished he could tell her why so she'd leave him alone...but he really couldn't. If he did she'd find out who Robin was. "Buzz off." He stood up, closed the laptop and left the living room, he was going home. And then to Blüdhaven, he was going back to the factory.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" Artemis yelled from the living room.  
Wally's eye twitched and he continued to walk away. There was a whole lot wrong right now, his best friend had been abducted and he just so happened to hear the entire thing over the phone so he was the first one to call the cops.  
And he was hoping desperately that that quick reaction time could help Batman, and the cops, and himself get some leads. 

He wanted his best friend back as soon as possible, and before any harm could be done.


	5. Chapter 5

There wasn't a word to describe how he felt right now. He was pretty sure whatever drugs they gave him had worn off by now, he just felt light headed and dizzy because he was starving. He'd kill for food right now (not literally) but he was getting pretty desperate. But hey, he moved to a different corner in this stupid dark room.

He attempted to find a door.

Didn't end too well and he ended up walking into a wall twice. But it was still progress. Dick hit his head on the cold brick wall and sighed. This was a fucking disaster and he was doomed.

Don't think like that.

"What else am i supposed to do...?" He muttered under his breath. Oh god he was losing his mind already.....talking to himself. Ridiculous. Might as well die now end his misery before it really starts.

Maybe when his organs are sold they'd fail right away. Ha in those sick bastards face serves them right-

Wait.

He heard voices, and it wasn't in his head.

He paled and tried to look around the dark room for an outline of a door, anything really! He bit his lip when he could hear footsteps and muffled voices and then he saw light, (unfortunately it wasn't at the end of the tunnel.) and he could see light flooding from underneath a door....that was right next to him. Okay what the hell?! How did he not find this damn door sooner?

He scooted further into the corner and nearly jumped out of his skin when the door opened quickly and it nearly hit him in the face.

“Where the fuck is he?" A man hissed, the lights turning on.

The door was hiding him; he was behind it. Maybe these guys would be stupid enough to not check?

"Check behind the door you fucking fish brained bitch," Another man replied his voice sounded like he was choking on gravel.

"No, he ain't in here!" The idiot man cried out, "He isn't in-" The fish brained idiot started to say but was cut off when the gravel guy shut the door and smiled.

Dick looked up at them, his eyes wide. Shit.

"Look you retard, he's right here!" Gravel guy exclaimed smacking the fish brain man in the face. "You dumb ass." Gravel guy knelt down in front of Dick and smirked, "Damn he's pretty."

Dick scowled, he wanted to say something but he felt like that would be a horrible idea.

"Just get him, I got shit to do man," Fish brain whined tossing handcuffs to Gravel guy.

Oh fuck. Okay he didn't like the sound of all of this, "How about we leave me be?" Dick said quietly. He'd rather starve in here then find out what happens once he goes out there.....

Gravel guy laughed and grabbed Dick by his hair, "Shut up you bitch," He said, still laughing.

Dick narrowed his eyes and yanked himself out of his grip, losing a handful of his hair in the process. He wanted to just get up and kick this guy in the face and run for dear life but that wasn't really an option right now. He was cornered and he didn't have clothes....fuck.

"Cut this shit out!" Gravel guy growled. "You're lucky I can't just put a bullet to your pathetic head right now." He grabbed his hair again rougher this time, "I will fucking knock you out and i don't give a damn if i bruise your petty little face."

Dick spit in Gravel guys face and once more squirmed out of his grip. The man had butter fingers, and thank god for that. He didn't want to know what they were going to do with him and he was 100% sure that it was gonna be BAD. They were talking to him like he was an animal, already unpleasant.

"Mother fucking, Bitch!" Fish brain yelled impatiently, "Just knock him out real quick!" He hated bringing the boss his pets, it was beyond annoying and it was a hassle. They never wanted to cooperate...they were like brainless dogs sometimes.

"I can't mark him up, I already pulled out a bit of his hair. The boss will send out his nutty child and she'll shoot us if he's ruined!" Gravel guy said scowling. "You heard what happened to the last person to screw up?"

"Got shot...." Fish brain muttered crossing his arms. "But a little bruise on his face won't get us killed....we could say he did it himself...?"

Gravel guy glared at Dick and he paled. "Fine, this difficult bitch deserves this."

Dick's eyes widened, fuck.

____________________

The man screamed in terror and looked down at the large drop below him, he was gonna die. He was most certainly gonna die, "P-Please don't kill me," the man begged looking up at the scariest thing he's ever seen.

The Batman.

He just appeared in his apartment and he immediately had him hanging over the ledge of his balcony. He wasn't ready to die!

"Is that what those kids said before you mercilessly killed them?" Batman growled.

The man let out a terrified scream when he looked down once more, "I-I-I told you, I never killed em', I swear!" It was the truth too, all he did was help track down the merchandise, sometimes catch them and help drive away. He never killed no one!

"But you helped," Batman said scowling.

"Y-Y-Yeah," He confessed.

"Then who does?!" Batman growled, throwing him back inside the ramshackle apartment. The place was a disaster, wallpaper torn up, bugs everywhere, and trash littered the floor. It was a garbage home for a garbage person.

Damian Dumas.

"Hodge, h-he tells me who the target is and where to drive. I swear that's all i know!" The man sobbed cowering in a corner. He was drenched in sweat and he may or may have not wet himself.

What a disgusting coward.

Batman clenched his fists. This man was not telling him anything he needed to know. "How did Hodge know?"

Damian shook his head, "They'll kill me if I tell you," He whispered.

"They'll kill you in prison," Batman growled walking closer to the cowardly man. The man trembled and covered his head and started to cry.

"C, M." The man replied quickly, "That's all i know about who calls the shots," He rolled his sleeve up to show what looked to be a brand mark, C&M. "He puts this on all his workers, then on his merchandise," He explained. "So we can't get away, and if we do run....he finds us."

Batman was silent. The person who called shots branded people? "His merchandise is the kids he's kidnapped."

The man nodded, "Y-Yes, but it says Property of, C&M. So we can find them."

That made his blood boil. Those bastards were going to have every bone in their bodies crushed...

_______________________________

"WAKE UP YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING SHIT," A gravelly voice screamed. Dick's eyes snapped open when he was slapped and he looked around his eyes wide, he groaned and clenched his eyes shut. His head was throbbing....what happened? Where was he? This wasn't that room...

He yelped when he was slapped again, "Stay awake!" Gravel guy hissed.

"W-What?" Dick was so confused, he couldn't move his hands they seemed to be tied behind him. He was in what looked like one of those interrogation rooms...but it was disgusting in here. The floor was caked with dust and dead bugs, the lights were flickering and the brick walls had white paint that was chipping off.

And he still had no clothes.

"Shut the fuck up," The man growled slapping him again, pretty much for no good reason. "Don't talk unless we tell you to."

Dick rested his head on the cold metal table, at the moment he didn't care that the table was rusty and gross. He felt absolutely disgusting right now, his head was throbbing, and his face stung because of that asshole. And to top it all off he was insanely confused.

How long has he been in this hellhole? In that room? It honestly felt like years.

"Hold your damn head up," Gravel guy said scowling. After the boy made no move for about a minute he growled something vulgar under his breath and he grabbed his hair and forced his head up. "Keep your head up, the boss will kill me if he thinks I hurt you."

"You did," He grumbled, yanking his head roughly out of Gravel's grip. He didn't give a shit if the 'boss' killed the gravel guy. He'd gladly kill the guy himself....okay no that's too far. Bruce would be disappointed if he ever tried anything.

Gravel guy was criminal scum though.....He'd be better off dead in all honesty. This guy was helping with a trafficking ring.

"What the hell did I say about talking?!" Gravel Guy yelled growing incredibly frustrated. He just wanted this brat to shut the hell up! Cut out his tongue or something! Heh, maybe he'd suggest that.

"Told me not too....but I'm gonna do it anyways." Dick rested his head on the table again. He ran out of fucks to give right now. He'd have some later...but right now he wanted to curl up, fall asleep and die.

Gravel guy was about to say something but he paled when he heard voices. "I swear to god you damn brat, don't say anything."

Dick just clenched his eyes shut and shivered. He could hear footsteps and voices outside the door and he was kinda scared. No, not kinda, incredibly terrified. He was dead.

Hopefully, it wouldn't be painful. Maybe if he asked nicely they'd end his misery before it really starts?

The door opened quickly and the sound of a man laughing happily was ear-piercingly loud. "He hasn't escaped!" A man cried out.

Dick kept his eyes shut but felt his blood run cold when he heard that voice. He knew that voice. He opened his eyes and looked up and his eyes widened.

Standing on the other side of the table was Daniel Crawford. He grinned and sat down, he looked like a complete psychopath right now. His suit was a mess and wrinkled, his eyes were bloodshot and he was shaking....with excitement?

"God, you're gorgeous," Crawford whispered, his voice trembling.

"You’re behind this!?" Dick cried out, anger now overtaking his confusion. This fucking bastard was the one behind the children missing, he was behind the trafficking ring. This sick man had been selling and killing children. “You sick freak!”

Crawford's grin disappeared. "That's no way to talk to your superiors," He said, starting to frown.

He was livid and disgusted, he went to this guy's parties. Bruce was friends with this guy! "You're no superior, you're fucking scum! Disgusting!" Dick yelled, "You're going to rot in prison you sick fuck!"

Crawford's eye twitched and he leaned over the table, "You're going to shut up."

"You're going to rot!"

"YOU BRAT!" Crawford yelled slapping him as hard as he could. "YOU SHUT UP OR I'LL CUT OUT YOUR TONGUE!" He wasn't kidding either, he's done it numerous times. And he'd do it again. "I've wanted you to be mine for years, and I'm going to get you. You're going to shut your pretty little mouth and listen to me, if you don't I will cut off your tongue. I don't care."

"I don't belong to you," He hissed completely ignoring Crawford's threat. He didn't think he'd actually do it. "I don't belong to anyone."

Crawford took a deep breath and sat down and rubbed his temples. "I can see you're going to be difficult to train," He sighed. "But oh well, I suppose it'll be fun. For me...not you."

Dick paled, "T-Train....?" He asked quietly. What the hell did he think he was? A dog?

A sick smile appeared on Crawford's face, "Oh yes...." He leaned back in the old rickety chair. "You see my dear, I sell things like you for money. But in order for those things to be worth something they need to know their place and they need to be obedient." He paused, "You need to learn your place."

"What.....?" He felt like he was going to faint. "You're not going to kill me...?"

Well shit, this wasn’t going to be good.

"You're worth too much to kill, Pretty boy...." He paused, "Huh. Maybe that'll be your new name...I am keeping you as my new pet." He looked Dick over, "My other pet just died."

"You're disgusting," Dick muttered, sending him a glare.

"Blue, black, red, or pink?" Crawford asked, completely ignoring what the boy said.

Dick was so beyond confused right now. He felt like his head was going to explode. "I think black....simple," Gravel guy commented from where he was standing.

"Hm....yeah. That'll work." Crawford quickly stood up, "Well....bring him to my room and I'll be in there in 15 minutes. I need to go do something real quick." He opened the door, "Make sure he doesn't escape. I will slit your throat if he does."

Dick watched Crawford leave with wide eyes.

He was screwed. He was absolutely screwed.


	6. Chapter 6

Being dragged down a dark hallway by your hair was surprisingly not the worst thing that had happened so far. But it was still incredibly unpleasant....obviously. Dick tried to latch onto anything with his feet, doorways, the floor...but it really wasn't working out.

"Quit the struggling," Gravel guy hissed his grip on the boy's hair tightening. Thank god his hair was longer, made it easier to keep hold of. Nice for him...not for the boy.

"Stop!" Dick yelled trying to get out of his grip. This hurt like no tomorrow and he really didn't want to find out what would happen when he was left alone with Crawford. That sick fuck. He still couldn't believe it was him behind all of this.

"Stop whining you petty little bitch," Gravel guy yelled, throwing him into a dark room and onto the disgusting carpet. The room had an overwhelming stench of mold and it was damp and freezing in here.

Dick scowled and tried to sit up but was kicked back down. He did not want to even be near this room. The smell in here....made him want to vomit.

"Stay down," Gravel guy ordered.

Dick clenched his eyes shut and held back a snarky reply. He wanted to go home right now, this was an absolute nightmare.

"Ah amazing, you got him in here!" Crawford smiled walking into the room. How could this sick man be so happy about this? What kind of person enjoyed tormenting children?

"He doesn't like to make it easy," Gravel guy replied.

"This'll help." He grinned and held up what looked like a black dog collar.

"I think blue would actually look better," Gravel guy said, shrugging.

"Whatever....this will work for now. Hopefully he'll be around for awhile....we can change it every now and then." Crawford smiled proudly.

Dick looked up in horror, what the actual fuck. He was not a goddamn dog. "I'm not a fucking dog!" He yelled.

"You sure are acting like one," the Gravel guy mumbled, rolling his eyes. "Now shut up."

Crawford smirked, and Gravel guy grabbed the boy by his hair and yanked him up to his feet. "Hold still pretty boy, maybe i wont choke you...."

Dicks eyes widened and he tried to move away, he remembered what that girl said. The girl he rescued....she said something about this. "STOP!" He tried desperately to move away but he knew it was pointless.

Crawford laughed and then put the collar on as tightly as he could. "There...looking good." He then pushed him to the ground. "Now listen Pretty Boy, you'll get used to this after a while I promise. But in order to get you to listen to me I have to do this...." He said, smirking.

Dick was not a happy person right now, but then again who would be? He was abducted from his own home, stuck in a trafficking ring, and now he was being treated like a dog. "You're sick," He muttered. Holy hell it hurt to talk, this collar was so damn tight.

"I'd shut up if i were you," Crawford warned, holding up what looked like a small button? What the actual hell? "One press of this and i'll fry your brain."

Dick scowled. "You think that scares me?" He hissed glaring up at him. "I'd rather be dead then near you!" It was the truth, plus this entire situation was incredibly humiliating. He'd much rather be dead then have this happen to him....

"Ah I'm sorry, Pretty Boy. I can't kill you......" Crawford pressed the button and Dick yelled in pain. He'd go and grab his neck, try and pry the damn thing off but his hands were tied behind his back. "But i can still hurt you."

"Idiot," Gravel guy muttered.

"Get out of here, I don't need you anymore," Crawford sighed, shooing him away. Gravel guy shrugged and left, closing the door behind him.

Dick's eyes watered. He'd been shocked before....multiple times actually. But never on his neck. It hurt.

Crawford smiled. "That shut you up quickly." He was good at this....maybe he'd submit sooner than he thought? He kinda hoped not since it was fun to slowly break them....that was his favorite part of having pets.

Dick hated this sick fuck...he already wouldn't mind breaking the no kill rule for this guy. Snap his disgusting pathetic neck.. "Why....do you do this....?" He asked quietly.

Crawford's smile disappeared, "Why?" He went silent for a moment. "Because of money, and because i enjoy it." He smiled. He also had his other reasons but this brat didn't deserve to know. Dick just scowled and stared down at the stained carpet.

Crawford cracked his knuckles, "Well i suppose i can start training you. Can't waste too much time now." His smile then widened when he saw the look of terror on the boy's face. "Awe don't be worried. If you listen to me it won't hurt too much."

Dick looked up at him, no. He wasn't letting that man anywhere near him, Dick attempted to scoot away from him but Crawford quickly grabbed him by the collar and forced him to stand. "S-STOP!" He screamed, already getting out of breath. The damn collar already made it difficult to breath...he didn't need someone pulling on it too.

"Rule one, don't talk unless i tell you too!" Crawford growled. "If you continue to break this rule I WILL cut out your pathetic tongue." It wasn't a threat either, it was a promise. "It's fun to do my dear." He grinned and dragged the boy to an old mattress. He really needed to get a new one....but oh well. His pets didn't really need anything fancy.

Dick tried to get away, he dragged his feet, kicked at Crawford's feet. But it was no use, "You may as well give up now darling. You're wasting your energy on this." Crawford sighed, roughly shoving him down. He didn't understand why they even tried. He wasn't going to let them leave...that one girl who got rescued about five days ago....she was an exception. He warned his boss not to leave her at the cabin, he knew that The Batman had been snooping around there. So he wasn't shocked when the girl was found, he was surprised with who found her though. The little sidekick of the Batman. Robin was it? Yeah that brat...he'd love to tear that kid apart.

"Now rule number two, you don't leave this room until I find a better use for you." Crawford grabbed his ankle and chained his foot to the bed frame. "I usually already have something planned for my pets....but right now. I don't know if i want to use you just for my own entertainment...." He paused, thinking. The kid had an interesting background...maybe if he manipulates him enough he could actually do good work for him?

Dick looked up at him and spit at him. "You're a pig." He knew he shouldn't be pissing the guy off but he was not letting this man control him. No way in hell! He was his own person, he did not belong to anyone. And he was NOT a dog.

"And you're a whore." He sneered and pressed the button.

Dick yelped and fell to his side, he fucking hated this man, he hated this place, he fucking hated that god damn shit collar!

"Say one more thing and I'll let my men have their way with you RIGHT NOW," He growled. "I was going to go easy on you since i understand how difficult it is to lose your virginity-"

"W-W-What!?" Dick stuttered his eyes wide. No...No...No.

"What are you not a virgin? If not...what kind of parent is Bruce Wayne...I-I mean sure he's got lots of girls...." Crawford mumbled. "Did you join in....?" He asked, pulling the boy closer.

A look of complete horror appeared on Dicks face within seconds. "WHAT? NO!" He cried out trying to get away, "YOU'RE DISGUSTING!" How dare he say something so fucking wrong! How could a person even....think of something like that?

"SHUT UP!" Crawford yelled slapping him. "How many times have i told you to shut your pathetic mouth!? You do not fucking speak unless I tell you too!"

What was this man?! Bipolar? An idiot? He literally just asked him a question! Dick fought tears and looked away from the disgusting pig. He just wanted to go home....

He didn't want to be here.

Where the hell was Batman....?

He was beyond done with this kid already, for the past two hours he would NOT shut up. At first it was nice to hear him beg for him to just stop, leave him alone. But it soon got incredibly annoying.... Richard Grayson, fun to look at but not fun to deal with that was for sure. "Shut your pathetic mouth!" Crawford yelled forcing his head down, maybe if he covered his face with something he would be quiet?

He was much too lazy to go and find an actual gag...he didn't think he had one. Duck tape? That could work but he'd have to get up and find it and he really didn't want to stop.

As annoying as this kid could be, this was worth it.

Crawford scowled when the boy started to cry again, "You're ruining the mood," He hissed. Crawford quickly pulled out and pulled his pants up. "I wasn't even that rough," He said shoving him aside. Crawford then stood up and just walked out of the room and slammed the door shut.

Dick stayed absolutely still until he was certain that disgusting excuse of a human was gone. He had never felt this humiliated before, so disgusted with himself. He just....he just. Dick clenched his eyes shut and held back a sob, he just lost his virginity to a disgusting old man. And he hated himself for not trying harder to get away...he let this happen.

He could have tried something...anything!

Maybe he should have tried to kick him some more? The shock from the collar was getting a bit more bearable, he could have just tried and ignored that and continued to try and stop him!

Bruce would be disappointed, absolutely horrified with him. He'd hate him and he'd never want to see him again...and Dick wouldn't blame him. He'd be horrified and disgusted too. But he didn't have to worry about ever seeing him again...he doubted he'd ever get out of here.

Dick slowly rolled over and winced in pain. His body hurt like hell, and every inch of his skin felt gross. He felt nasty, and he wanted nothing more than to wash himself in bleach for hours. Although dying sounded like an even better thing to want right now.

Dick took a deep breath and forced himself to sit up and he groaned in pain and laid back down on his side. He couldn't sit, his rear end hurt.

He honestly didn't think there were any words to describe how much it hurt down there....it felt like he was being torn apart non-stop for a full two hours. And if that wasn't absolutely horrid enough that disgusting pig mocked and laughed the entire time.

Dick stared at the gross stained mattress and he tried not to cry. But he felt like a war had just broken out in his head, he didn't know what to think, how to feel.....what to do.

He was helpless and this was hopeless. Batman would never find him...he was doomed to be used by sick, sick people.

There was no hope for him. None...

______________________

He wished he could have gotten out to that factory sooner...but he was happy he got there eventually. Kid Flash looked up at the all too familiar factory and he felt chills go up his spine, he couldn't tell if it was from the wind or if he was actually a bit nervous about going into the building alone.

But he needed to go in and see if there was anything in there to give him a lead to where his best friend was. Kid Flash quickly appeared in front of the door and he scowled when he saw a red light blinking on it. The door was locked....and all the windows were fixed...absolutely brand new.

That had to mean that this was still being used even after Robin had busted the cabin owned by the same people who owned this factory. Kid Flash clenched his fists, how the hell was he supposed to get into there?!

"You're really not trying to hide are you?" A girl's voice said from behind him.

Kid Flash quickly turned around and narrowed his eyes when he saw a cloaked person standing there, it was a girl. The girl crossed her arms when she got no response, "Playing shy?" She asked, smirking.

"....." Kid Flash was not sure how to reply. He was more confused, "What are you...red riding hood?" Oh okay no, that was the worst thing he'd ever said. What was he doing?! Making odd playground insults?

The girl went silent and just stared at him and she chuckled, "You're funny, almost makes me sad i'm gonna have to kill you." She pulled out a smoke bomb and quickly threw it to the ground. 

Shit.

He'd love to knock her out or something but he could not see a single damn thing. Now he knew why Robin loved these things so much. Kid Flash turned around and moved to run out of the cloud of smoke but his foot was kicked out from underneath him and he face planted. This had to be the most embarrassing moment of his entire life.

"God you're not real fun to fight," The girl muttered standing on top of him.

Kid scowled and rolled over causing her to fall off but when he went to stand up she latched onto his leg. "Pardon me, not very good at beating superhero butt," She said smiling.

Kid Flash looked down and tried to shake her off his leg but this girl was not moving at all. "Get off!"

"Make me!"

"Fine i will!"

"Good for you, now do it!"

Before he could reply the girl bit him! She bit his leg as hard as she could, "OW WHAT THE HELL!?" Kid Flash cried out, it didn't hurt too badly he was just more surprised that this kid just bit him. The girl smirked and while that distracted him she moved and swept his feet from underneath him and sent him crashing to the ground and she kicked him in the head as hard as she could and knocked him out.

"What a fool," She muttered standing up. She just beat the Flash's sidekick....and she didn't even have any superpowers. This was too easy.

Although she was a little bummed. She was hoping to get the Bats sidekick. He sounded like fun....and he'd be tricky to fight. She heard how clever he was.

She sighed and looked down at the beaten hero...uh now what to do with him?

____________

Bruce paced back and forth in his office, he had just been invited to another one of Daniel Crawford's parties. Apparently it was a party to celebrate all his employees, he didn't want to go mostly because he had things he had to do.

Like finding his son.

But it was proving to be a lot more difficult then he wanted it to be. Damian Dumas didn't know anything useful and as soon as he left the apartment Dumas was murdered the same way Hodge was...

Bruce sat down in his office chair and put his head in his hands. He just wanted his son back, it made him sick knowing that Dick was in danger and right now he wanted nothing more than to just find him and break every bone in the sick person behind this.

"I see you won't be going to Mr. Crawford's Party," Alfred said standing in the doorway.

"How can I go to a part when Dick is missing, Alfred?" Bruce replied.

Alfred frowned, "You can't just hide from the world, Master Bruce," He replied. "Who knows, maybe you could find a lead there..."

Bruce scowled, "What kind of lead could I possibly find there?!" He asked sitting up straight.

"As soon as Daniel Crawford showed up in Gotham, the trafficking ring had started up. Maybe the person behind it goes to his parties....Crawford has invited every single one of the missing kids to one of his parties at one point." Alfred replied.

Bruce's eyes widened, how did he not think of that sooner?! "Alfred you're a genius!" Bruce quickly stood up, the night Dick went missing he had attended Crawford's party. And the other missing children had gone to his parties at one point and then later went missing. 

Could his parties be a way to get to know the victims?

Did Crawford know about this?

  
Bruce adjusted his tie and walked into the large mansion owned by Crawford. This was the last place he wanted to be right now, he wanted nothing more than to be out looking for his son. But Alfred was right, the majority of the victims had all been at one of Crawford's parties at some point. He invited every well known and wealthy family in Gotham....so he didn't think Crawford knew about this connection. But It is a good possible lead...

He hoped.

Bruce needed to get this night done with and he needed to find anything that could possibly tip him off that something was wrong here. He scowled and looked around the crowded building, all he saw right now were nicely dressed women and men all talking, laughing and drinking. The occasional kid would run around and then be scolded by a parent.

It looked like a normal party, but for some reason, it felt as if everyone was on edge. The more you looked at people the more you noticed how their eyes would be scanning the crowd and then the mothers would pull their children closer to themselves. And as soon as people realized that Bruce Wayne had just walked in people started to stare at him now, and he could hear the whispers.

Everyone knew about Dick being abducted, and it had been the biggest gossip of Gotham since that dreadful night. It honestly felt like months ago but in reality, it was only four days ago.

Bruce took a deep breath and ignored the odd looks he was getting, he knew what they were probably thinking. Oh, what's Bruce Wayne doing at a party while his son is missing? Does he really like drinking and partying that much?

They could think whatever the hell they wanted, and he didn't give a damn about what people thought about him or what he did, or even how he reacted.

They had no idea why he was really here, and he'd like it to stay that way.

"Mr. Wayne?"

Bruce turned around and saw Crawford approaching him, he seemed surprised to see him here. "Good evening, Mr. Crawford," Bruce said, shaking his hand. He didn't even bother to pretend to smile, he couldn't. Even pretending to be happy hurts right now.

"I, uh. Didn't expect to see you here," Crawford said quietly.

"Why is that?" Bruce asked. Something was odd with Crawford tonight or well more than usual. He refused to make eye-contact.

"Well, I've heard about what happened to Richard...." He started to say.

"The GCPD will handle it, they told me that they already have multiple leads," Bruce replied quickly. "I figured that getting out could help me settle my nerves. I can't stand to just....stay home."

"The GCPD said they have leads?" He asked quickly, "Really?" He paused, "That....great news, Mr. Wayne." He grinned and still refused to make eye-contact. He was looking everywhere but at Bruce at the moment.

"They had found some men who had abducted Dick from the manor, I heard that they got one to talk about who's behind-"

Crawford's eyes widened, "T-They know who is behind all of this!?" He laughed nervously and messed with his tie, "That's....that's amazing, Mr. Wayne." He took a deep breath and wiped some sweat off his brow. "Richard is an amazing and intelligent young man, I do hope he is found and returned home safely." Crawford shifted uncomfortably on his feet when he said that, "I do hope that he is alright."

Bruce studied his body language, Crawford was acting incredibly odd. Even if he wasn't Batman he'd still be suspicious. This behavior was odd and unsettling, "With the sloppy abduction and the quick action of the police, I am sure my son will be back by tomorrow." That wasn't something Bruce would normally say, but with how Crawford acted when he said something about a possible lead...well something was up.

".....I pray he will, Mr. Wayne. I'm very worried about him," Crawford said quietly, all color draining from his face.

"Thank you, Daniel." Bruce went to turn away and he heard Crawford grumble something under his breath and he rushed off. Bruce scowled, Crawford had to know something. Why else would he act like that?"

Crawford walked over to where the food was and grabbed a glass of wine that was set out and chugged the entire thing. And then placed it down and rubbed his temples and looked up and saw that Mr. Wayne had disappeared.

Oh hell, this was bad. He wasn't expecting Wayne....he had just sent out invites to everyone he had invited to his other parties. And he sorta figured that Wayne would skip out considering his son was kidnapped.

Crawford scowled and walked away from the crowds of people and down the hall, he needed some quiet and he needed to think. He knew he acted like a complete fool to Wayne, and he knew that man suspected something. That man wasn't an idiot. But hopefully he was no detective and he'd stay out of this and let the idiotic police department attempt to find his pathetic kid.

Wait, Bruce claimed they had leads. Well, he knew they saw the vehicle they used because clearly, the people he had hired to help him had the intelligence of a toddler. But he really hoped they didn't actually cause his whole operation to be put on the road of being busted.

He couldn't have this be ruined, his boss would kill him!

Crawford leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. He needed a plan to get all suspicion away from him, and fast.

Like tonight kind of fast because he was not willing to waste any time. Because the sooner the better.

He sighed and quickly made his way to his office and he unlocked the door, slammed it shut and sunk down into his chair and stared at his desk in misery.

He didn't deserve to be caught...he was doing good. He had helped so many people out of poverty because of this, sure some kids got raped here and there, sold, murdered, maybe even tested on. But kids could be made easily in like....nine months! It was easy and fun to make, money, however, took a lot more time than nine months.

Plus those kids were all brats, they would only just take their parent's money and never work a day in their lives. So he was fixing it, he gave them jobs.

Make him money by getting sold or from entertainment! Easy! He kept them somewhat healthy, he gave them food, a roof over their heads. See!? He wasn't the bad guy, he was doing good.

He was making money for good causes and giving brats a purpose in their pathetic useless lives.

But he knew everyone else would think otherwise.

How could you rip kids away from their families and rape them?

Easy.

You're a sick disturbed man who deserves death!

Not sick, intelligent.

Disturbed.

Crawford groaned and leaned back and he was just about to get back up but his cell phone rang loudly. He scowled and answered it quickly, "Hello?"

"Dad, we've got a problem," A female replied.

"Luna," He hissed. That stupid kid, she needed to learn how to fucking listen to him! "I told you to never EVER call me!"

"This is important. The league is onto us....I caught one of their sidekicks. The Flash's I think."

Crawford went silent, "I-I, I'm on my way." He quickly hung up and stood up. This needed to be handled right now.

He did NOT need the league onto him.

That fucking bat brat probably started this when he found the cabin.

God he wanted to tear him apart.

__________________________________

Bludhaven's weather always sucked, it wasn't nearly as bad as Gotham but it was getting there. The cold rain and harsh wind were seriously starting to get on her nerves, and she was starting to lose feeling in her legs and fingers.

But she did feel great. She managed to catch a sidekick, and it felt hella good to beat a super powered human. The blonde girl smirked and ignored the wind and shifted in place, father didn't seem really happy when she told him but he did have other things to worry about.

The league was obviously closing in on them and that was bad news. But thankfully where all the merchandise that could get them arrested was at an unknown location.

She smiled and pulled her red hood down and quickly pulled her messy blonde hair into a messy ponytail and she turned and walked inside an old crumbling brick building.

It was actually an old hospital that her father had bought when he attended an auction a few years ago. It was a great place to store everything and make deals, etc. And she always found it interesting how on the outside it looked disgusting. The bricks were crumbling and plants were growing up the walls and covering the majority of the windows. And it was massive....

Although the best part was the inside, one side of the building had brand new carpet, freshly painted walls, and fairly nice rooms and even a functioning bathroom. But that side was for her, and the other people who worked for Father.

The other side of the building was disgusting, rooms had no windows and the doors reminded her of the ones you'd see in prisons. Didn't help that there was a bad mold problem over there along with a rat and cockroach infestation.

Disgusting.

But not like the brats Father got really needed anything fancy. They were only here to get money for them and be sold. It wasn't too common that people would come here and pay for time with a brat. They mostly were just brought to auctions. But apparently, a new brat Father had got was getting some attention.

Richard Grayson was it?

Yeah, that was it, well he was apparently in high demand. She could have sworn there were about 20 people who already wanted a piece of him. And there were about two people who already offered about 500k for him.

Father, however, was wanting to hold onto him for a bit.

She wasn't sure why, but she sure the hell wasn't going to ask. Although she had a slight idea...but she wasn't allowed to mention 'his' name anymore.

She wasn't sure who 'he' was. But she figured it was a past pet that Father missed, a pet he named Andrew? Odd name for a pet. But whatever, Grayson probably reminded him of Andrew.

She would feel bad for the kid but.....he was a prick in her opinion.

Ohhh he thought he was so intelligent, always participating in those stupid math things and always winning those stupid shiny gold things. She had no idea what exactly those math things were or what the gold things were...but she still hated him.

She also hated how he was the richest kid in Gotham because of Bruce Wayne adopting him. Ugh, he was nothing but a piece of foreign trash. He didn't belong in Gotham, he didn't deserve anything that Bruce Wayne gave him. And she was incredibly happy that he was here, he deserved to be used.

That's all he was really good for anyways.

Plus, Bruce Wayne was incredibly miserable right now. And for some reason, she found joy in his misery. She hated that man, she wasn't sure why. But she did. Her memory was never really the best....but she trusted her 'heart' as cold as it was. And if she woke up hating Wayne and Grayson. Then she'd hate them forever, and ever, and ever.

"Luna, could you stop fucking staring at the wall. You're creeping me out!" A gravelly voice hissed.

'She' Luna looked up and scowled, "Go away." She couldn't stand this guy, his voice hurt her ears. It sounded like he was choking on gravel, oh wait. No, he sounded like a sad actor who was the main character in a dramatic trilogy for a well-beloved character and he completely butchered the beloved character's voice.

"You gotta watch the sidekick, make sure he doesn't get out," The man replied.

"Shut the hell up, Christian. I know what I've gotta do," Luna muttered, grabbing a sweater. The red cloak was irritating and way too hot.

"My name is Tyler.....who the fuck is Christian!?" Gravel guy- Tyler asked.

"A sad actor," She grumbled underneath her breath, storming past him. She always liked Ben better, the guy who had the intelligence of a fish. Too bad Ben said his name wasn't actually Ben, it was Allen.

Why couldn't Father's goons just accept their roles!?

"A sad actor?! What's that supposed ta' mean!?" Tyler cried out from the other side of the hall. Tyler scowled when he got no reply, oh well. Being called Christian was the last of his worries, he had to go out into the dark night and make sure no trespassers were lurking. Farmers did bale hay close by. And sometimes their curiosity would rise and once some of their kids went over here. He had to make sure none of them return here.

____________________

Kid Flash scowled and cracked open his eyes, god his head was killing him. What happened!? He groaned and slowly sat up and rubbed the back of his head, and he squinted when he found himself in a damp moldy room. The walls were cracked white brick and the ground was an old tile with what looked like dead bugs everywhere, and an old flickering light was hanging from the middle of the room.

Oh shit, he got beat by that red-cloaked girl.

Or well that's what she thought.

This was all a part of his master plan that he had just come up with on the spot. He was hoping he could get into that old factory and see if he could find any papers or any leads on where Dick was and the rest of the kids. But it seems like that girl had brought him to the exact place he was looking for. (Hopefully) So this wasn't a complete disaster, the only problem was finding a way out of this room.

And finding something to eat.

He was really running low on 'fuel' and he had already eaten his backup food on the way to the factory. Kid Flash took a deep breath and immediately gagged at the dreadful stench of this room.

He really needed to find a way out of this room, and he really needed to find his best friend and call the league- WAIT. His eyes widened and a victorious smile appeared on his face, he still had a tracker on him and a way to contact Flash. The girl hadn't taken it! She didn't know about it! He could get back up and get saved and this place could get busted!

This was going to be easy, his mistake turned out to be the best decision he had ever made in his entire life!

  
____________________

He was freezing, and he really didn't want to touch the disgusting blanket that Crawford had been 'nice' enough to leave it here. It was a gross brownish color, and he was pretty sure it was supposed to be white.

Plus his hands were still tied behind his back and he couldn't feel his fingers anymore and Dick was pretty sure that wasn't good. Although that wasn't the worst thing that had happened to him. He just wished his entire body would go numb because he had never been this sore before in his entire life.

He didn't think every inch of his body would hurt, he only thought that....that....down there would hurt. But no, everything hurt. Absolutely everything hurt.

He couldn't even sit up without wanting to cry.

What the hell did he do to deserve this? What did he do to deserve to be treated like an object!?

Well sorry, he existed. He never asked to be born.

Sorry, he had a certain color of hair and eyes. Not like he asked for that, and sorry he was adopted by a rich person.

He sure the hell didn't ask for that.

Dick clenched his eyes shut and tried to take a deep breath but even that hurt.

He felt like figuring out how to hang himself with this stupid collar, anything to get this pain to go away. Anything to stop feeling this humiliated, and anything to make him stop thinking. Dick slowly forced himself to sit up and he looked around the room. Maybe he could like....hang himself on the bed frame and 'fall' off the bed?

It would be really humiliating to be found dead like that, but he didn't think he could be 'more' humiliated than he already was. Yeah....he'd do that. He didn't care anymore, he just wanted out of here.

He'd rather burn in hell then be here.

Dick was about to try and hang himself but the door was opened quickly and Crawford stormed in and slammed the door shut, he looked absolutely pissed. His face was beet red and in his hand was a camera?

Dick paled and looked at Crawford like a deer caught in headlights. No, he didn't want to see him, he didn't want to anymore.

"You disgusting BRAT!" Crawford growled walking over to him, he tossed the camera onto the bed and grabbed Dick by the collar around his neck and pushed him against the bed frame. His eyes nearly bulging out of his sockets, "Y-You ruined EVERYTHING!" Crawford screamed, his entire body shaking in anger. "Because of YOU, the police are on my lead! They're going to find this place and I'll be ruined!" He couldn't just move his entire operation to a new building. He didn't know how much time he had left, but talking to Wayne gave him a good reason to keep himself safe. Hopefully.

"I-I-I, d-didn't do any-anything!" Dick sobbed, he felt like a weak piece of shit right now. He couldn't do anything right now, he was helpless and that terrified him. He didn't want this man to touch him anymore, he didn't want to be anywhere near him!

"DO NOT SPEAK TO ME, YOU WORTHLESS DOG!" Crawford slapped him and pushed him against the bed frame until he was pretty much crushing the boy. "You're ruining everything and you're going to fix it," He growled staring right into the boy's terror-filled eyes.

He grabbed the camera, it was fairly large. Something you'd use to record something, like home films....

A dark smile appeared on Crawford's face, "Now listen to me very carefully Pretty Boy," He said slowly. "I do not want to kill you, you're worth way too much alive. But I can't risk having you tell anymore who I am if you are....'saved'." He paused, "So to make sure you won't say anything....I'm going to record something very 'fun' and I'm certain you would NOT want everyone to see you sharing a very intimate moment with an 'old' man." 

Dick's eyes watered and he felt like he was going to vomit, "N-No, please. I-I swear I-I won't say a-anything!" He begged, "P-Please don't do this!" He sobbed. He was already disgusted with himself, he didn't need everyone else- Bruce, to be disgusted as well. The mere thought of him, of anyone seeing this, seeing him being raped by an old man was terrifying. 

"I don't trust you," Crawford growled. "If I go down, you go down too, Pretty Boy." He grabbed him by the collar and threw him off the bed and onto the floor. Crawford set the camera down and stood up and walked over the boy and towards the door. He had to do something first though. To make sure this brat never forgot who he belonged to.

Dick groaned in pain, he wished he hung himself sooner. He'd rather be dead right now, he wanted no part in this, he wanted this man to rot.

But he also didn't want anyone to.....to see this.

Dick slowly sat up once more and groaned when the room spun and fell back to his side. The room was spinning now, either he hit his head too hard or he was actually going to end up getting sick.

The door swung back open and Crawford walked into the room a rod in his hand and the end was burning red. It was a branding rod, "Now. This will only hurt for a while, don't worry." Crawford grinned and grabbed Dick by his hair and pushed his head down and used his foot to hold him on his side. "So we can find you when this whole league shit is taken care of," He grumbled, quickly pressing the branding rod down on his hip or really anywhere he could get it.

Saying it hurt was an understatement.

It burnt, it felt like his skin was burning off like he was on fire and it just wouldn't stop!

Crawford smiled when the boy screamed in anguish and he only pressed the rod down harder. He wanted this brat to suffer, to remember who the hell he belonged to. "You're a useless piece of shit!" Crawford hissed, "You're going to fucking suffer for ruining my work!" He pulled the rod away and tossed it aside and looked down at the brat.

Dick sobbed and curled up, "P-P-Please." He couldn't take this anymore, "N-No m-more," He begged. 

"Shut your fucking pathetic mouth and stop crying!" He grabbed the boy by his hair and tossed him back onto the bed, he then opened a drawer on an old nightstand and pulled out a roll of duct tape. "I'm done listening to you," He muttered.

He just wanted to record this and get the hell out of here as fast as he could.

But it was nice to see the brand mark....C&M. This brat was his, and he was not going to forget that.

He grinned and pinned him down, "You're mine."

Forever

__________

It took a lot longer than he imagined to get through to the league, but he did manage to send out an emergency signal to the league. So all he could really do was pray that it got through and whoever was on duty at the Watchtower got it.

So while he was waiting for some backup (Hopefully they'd show up) He needed to get out of this room and find his best friend. Kid Flash stood up and walked towards the door, there was no door knob so opening the door was pretty much impossible right now. He scowled and kicked the door.

"Hey, cut that out," A muffled voice complained from the other side of the door.

Kid Flash froze for a moment and kicked the door as hard as he could and stepped back. And sure enough, the door swung open and a short man stood on the other side. "Sit back down, or else I'll snap yer neck."

Kid Flash looked at the man in awe, was he really this stupid? Was he fished brained? "Sorry, no can do!" He then quickly punched the guy in the face and the fish brained man fell to the ground and howled in pain.

"WHAT THE HELL!? I TOLD YOU TO WATCH HIM!?" A gravelly voice screamed from down the hall.

Kid scowled, shit more people were on their way. He looked over down the hall and saw a taller man running over to him a bat in hand. And on the other side of the hall was the blonde girl who had a cookie hanging from her mouth.

Kid was pretty much cornered. But hopefully, he could outsmart these idiots....they did all seem to be buffoons.

The gravel sounding guy let out what sounded like a battle cry and came running at Kid flash with the bat raised and ready to hit him as hard as he could. Meanwhile, the girl was slowly approaching Kid from behind while the Gravel guy distracted him.

Kid smirked and right when he was about to be hit in the face with the bat he dodged it and the girl who was approaching him from behind ended up getting smacked right in the face by the bat.

A crunching was heard and the girl screamed in agony and fell to the floor and covered her face, blood dripping from between her pale fingers. Her nose must have been broken. The gravel guy gasped and ran over to her and started to apologize and take a tissue from his pocket but the girl slapped him, "G-GET THE SIDE-SIDE K-KICK!" She stuttered and her voice sounded all weird due to her broken nose but she didn't move.

Kid took this as his opportunity to grab the bat and hit the guy in the head and he soon collapsed. "G'Night," He grinned.

The girl jumped to her feet and dashed off as fast as she could and stumbled around the corner. Kid was about to chase after her but he dropped the bat. He had to look for his best friend first, Dick was more important than that girl. She was harmless right now.

Kid looked down at the two passed out men at his feet. He had to get these guys tied up first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thankyou so all reading this <3
> 
> I'm so sorry if this books layout looks awful I'm still trying to get used to the spacing on this site. It's so very different from Wattpad haha, but at least this works better :-P If you're enjoying this so far please leave a comment! I love feedback :)


	7. Chapter 7

He felt dead.

Nothing was worth it anymore.

He was a disgusting whore.

And he knew it.

He was disgusting.

He deserved this.

Right?

He didn't know what to think anymore.

His head was pounding,

His shoulders ached and he couldn't feel his arms anymore.

His neck felt like it was on fire because of the damn shock collar.

And an unbearable pain shot up his legs every time he moved the slightest.

God, if he felt this horrible. He didn't want to know what he looked like.

He remembered what that girl in the cabin looked like, how she was covered in hickeys, bruises, sweat....completely nude. She looked absolutely horrible, she didn't smell that pleasant either. And he was sure he looked the same way. He sure the hell did feel that way, disgusting inside and out. Useless inside and out, a whore.

But what hurt the most right now was his hip, it burned and he could see it.

Property of C&M

He really did belong to Crawford....didn't he? He was like an animal to that man. And he couldn't get rid of that mark, it was going to be there forever....unless he scratched it off, or maybe got a knife and just sliced off the skin?

He'd do that, he'd do that if he could move his hands. He'd do it right now, use his nails to scrape off the skin. Get rid of it....

Dick closed his eyes and buried his head in the filthy sheets, he didn't want to look at it anymore.He never wanted to see that vile sight ever again. He wanted to die.

Dick felt his heart stop when he heard the door slowly open and someone stepped into the room.

Oh god, he didn't want anymore, he didn't know if he could last another round! He was exhausted, starving and he felt like he was dying.

Maybe Crawford changed his mind? He'd kill him, he'd end his misery? He was too afraid to look, he just wanted to play dead. So that was what he was doing. He clenched his eyes shut and held his breath.

Just go away, please.

There was a moment of silence and Dick felt himself relax as much as he really could. Was he gone? Was he finally alone....?

"Dick?" A familiar voice asked quietly.

Dick kept his eyes clenched shut, no now he was going crazy. He was losing his mind, he was hearing things.

"Dick?" The voice asked again, he heard footsteps come closer and Dick still played dead. "Dick!?" The voice cried out, "Dude!?"

Dick yelped when he was shaken, "O-ow!" He cried out surprised by the quick movement that came out of nowhere. He really didn't appreciate being shaken like that, it really hurt. Didn't help he still wasn't sure what was happening right now. Was that someone he knew....? Ugh god, his brain felt like it was melting. He really just wanted to get something to drink, eat something, then sleep. He hadn't eaten since he was first abducted, and he was pretty sure that was about three days ago? God damn. He just wanted his misery to end, "K-Kill me," He groaned quietly.

The person went silent, "Dick....it's me, Wally. Y-Your best friend." Wally looked down at his best friend but quickly tore his eyes away, he didn't want to look at his best friend. It physically hurt him to see Dick like this.

He looked around and saw a blanket on the ground and he picked it up and quickly covered his friend, "S-So...your...your not g-gonna kill me?" Dick asked quietly, he really hoped he would. If Wally was really here and this wasn't some weird dream from drugs then that meant the league wasn't far behind. And he didn't want them to see him this way, he didn't even want Wally to see him this way.

Wally went quiet but took a deep breath, "I'm not going to kill you....I'm going to get you out of here, okay?" He said slowly.

"T-Thats what he wants."

"What?" Wally asked completely confused, okay could the league please get their asses here soon? It had been like an hour since he had sent out the signal. They should be crashing through the walls pretty soon! "Who? Who?"

"He."

"Who?"

"He."

Wally took a deep breath, "Dude this isn't the best time for the pronoun game, you need to tell me who so I can get whoever did this to you and break every bone in their body!" It didn't take a genius to know what happened here. And it made him feel sick to his stomach.

"H-He," He stuttered slowly sitting up, "I don't- He, okay!?" He cried out.

"Dick, you're not all here right now." Wally moved and untied his hands and Dick fell to his side and curled up into the fetal position. "Dick, come on. I need to get you out of here," Wally said softly. What did they drug him with?! What did they do to him!?

Dick groaned, "No, No. You don't understand, I can't. I can't, he wants this. I-I don't want him to win!" He yelled quickly sitting back up, the room was spinning like crazy now. He felt like he was going to pass out but he needed to tell Wally. "Y-You can't a-a-ask me, Ok, Ok? Okaaay?" He hissed, trembling. "You, you have no idea....you have no idea. Okay?" He whispered loudly. "He k-knows everything."

"He knows y-" Wally started to say but Dick weakly slapped him.

"SHUT UP OKAY!?" He yelled, "S-Stop talking. You don't know and y-you can't."

Wally was a little scared, his best friend was a mess physically right now and he was acting like a complete nut job right now. He seemed traumatized... and he really didn't blame him but this was scary....seeing Dick, Robin traumatized. This kid was literally the strongest person he knew, both physically and mentally.

And now he really wasn't.

He wasn't his best friend right now, he was a victim of a horrendous crime.

"A-Alright, I can't and I won't," Wally said softly. Deciding to just go along with whatever his friend was rambling about. He really wanted the league here NOW.

Dick just latched onto him and Wally covered him with the blanket and then slowly wrapped his arms around him.

"Kid Flash, where are you?" A familiar voice asked.

Wally looked up and smiled, it was Miss Martian. That meant the league was hopefully here, and they were close. "I'm at the far side of the building in a room with a padlocked door, it's open right now but, I-I. Is Batman here?" He asked quickly.

"Yes, he's with the rest of the league, they're clearing up rooms.....they won't let us know wha-" Miss Martian started to say.

"Send him to where I am, RIGHT now," Wally replied quickly and rather loudly, ouch his head.

"O-Oh yeah, of course." She then went quiet.

Wally took a deep breath and looked down at his best friend and held him tighter, "It's all over now," He said softly.

"No...n-no not really," Dick mumbled quietly.

Wally scowled, "Seriously. I'm trying to make you feel be-"

"W-Well y-you can s-shut up."

"Damn ouch dude," Wally said scowling. "You're being mean."

"Y-You took...l-like three days to....t-t-to get here."

Wally went silent, ".....You can be an asshole now, Dude."

Dick smiled slightly and closed his eyes and rested his forehead on Wally's shoulder, "K."

He was going to be alright now....right? He'd keep his part of the deal, he'd keep his mouth shut about who did this and he'd be okay, right? "You're safe now dude," Wally said softly.

"K."


	8. Chapter 8

He felt pretty pathetic.

Locking himself up in his room, trying to hide from all his problems.

Pathetic.

But he didn't really care to just.....not be pathetic? Could he just....stand up and be like. Woah I feel like shit inside and out. Maybe I should do something about it, talk to someone. But he wasn't. He didn't want to talk to anyone and he didn't want to be seen by anyone.

He already had to deal with Bruce asking him over and over who did this.

Who hurt you? Did you see their face? Hear anything? Know any names?

And every time Bruce got the same answer.

No.

He didn't see anything, he had no names, he didn't hear anything.

He had no idea who was behind the trafficking ring.

But he did. And it hurt him to lie to Bruce, Bruce just wanted to help him and help the other children who were hurt by the sick person who was behind this. And he knew Bruce knew he wasn't being truthful.

How could he have not seen anything?

Blackmail.

That sick fucking bastard knew that the league was on his trail and he knew he couldn't move all his 'stuff' in time. But he still didn't understand why Crawford would go through all the trouble of blackmailing him....

Why didn't he just kill him?

Dick sighed and looked out the window and he rested his head against the cool glass. He wished he was killed right there, he didn't want to be here. He couldn't live with himself, he felt disgusting. No amount of showering and scrubbing could get 'it' off.

He tried to grab some bleach but Alfred obviously didn't let that happen.

He wasn't going to use a lot, just a little wouldn't hurt...

He scowled and closed his eyes but a few seconds later opened them when he heard his bedroom door open. "Go away," He grumbled. He didn't want to talk to Bruce or Alfred right now, he'd rather just drown in his self-pity.

How mature.

"Not happening."

Dick sat up and looked at Wally, "If I say please, would you go away?"

Wally shook his head. "Don't be mean dude, I'm just here to hang out. Y'know, give you some company? You seriously have to be bored just sitting by the window and doing nothing all alone."

"I like sitting here all alone," Dick replied. "And I'd love it if you left and I could continue sitting here all alone. Because I LIKE it." He wasn't being mean, just honest. He liked sitting here alone.

He'd like people to stay away from him.

For the rest of his life.

Wally sighed and sat down next to him and shook his head, "Dude I know that's not true."

"It is."

"It isn't."

"Don't argue with me!" Dick hissed.

"Don't lie then," Wally replied softly. "I'm not here to bother you and ask you questions like everyone else, okay?"

That was a huge relief to hear, to be honest, he was so done with Bruce asking him questions non-stop. "Good." Dick relaxed a bit and looked back out the window. The weather out there matched his mood perfectly. Heavy dark clouds covering the sun, the leaves were dead and on the ground and it looked like a storm was on its way.

Lovely December weather....ugh.

"But if you want to talk....I'm h-"

"Just stop," Dick grumbled interrupting Wally. "Just don't finish that sentence. That's what everyone else fucking says and its really getting old."

"Oh, sorry dude. But it's true okay?" Wally was trying not to just rage quit right now, he understood that Dick was going through a lot right now. And he had an idea of what he went through, but it didn't give him the right to be a complete asshole to everyone.

From the moment he had woken up in Gotham General after he was found....well he was horrible. He'd be rude to the nurse that came in and checked on him and he'd always kick everyone who wanted to visit him out.

And when some person from the GCPD came in to ask him questions, Dick wouldn't say anything. And Wally knew Dick was hiding something, it was pretty damn obvious.

Why else would he be acting this way? Dick never treated his friends and family like complete and utter shit! This was way out of his character. And it really hurt to see him this way.

"Just leave me alone," Dick muttered.

"Listen," Wally replied, scowling. "I know whatever happened was awful but that doesn't give you the right to treat everyone like shit!" He cried out, "Dude we care about you so much and all we want is for you to get better!"

"I'm fine, and I'll be even better if you fucking leave!" Dick snapped, sending Wally a murderous glare. "I saw nothing, I don't know who is fucking behind the trafficking ring, I have no god damn idea okay!? So fuck off!"

Wally went silent, "Fine. Have fun sitting in self-pity," Wally replied standing up and leaving.

"I will!" Dick yelled as soon as the door slammed shut and he was once again all alone.

________________________________________

Wally sat down on the couch and Artemis scowled, "What's wrong with you?" She grumbled looking back at the tv. Wally had been in a pretty sour mood all month and it was really annoying. Or well at first it was nice because he was quiet, but now she just wanted him to say stupid things again.

"Nothing, just tired." He lied.

"Mhm, and I'm the richest lady on earth," She replied sarcastically. She knew he wasn't just tired, something else had to be bothering him. It was obvious.

"You're not rich."

"And you're not tired." She rolled her eyes and shut the Tv off, "Look Wally. Just tell me what's wrong. Is it a girl? Did you get friend zoned?" She wouldn't be too surprised if that was the case, he wasn't exactly a womanizer, he was lady repellent.

"It's just......I...." He paused, he didn't really know how to explain what was going on. He couldn't just say, yeah so my best friend who I love to death was a victim of a trafficking ring and I don't know how to help him. Because Artemis would probably be all like, Woah who's your friend? And when he replies and says, Dick Grayson, she'd be like.....how do you know him!?

And then she'd put two and two together and find out Dick is Robin and then Batman would murder him! Wally valued his life.

"Is what happened last month really still affecting you?" She asked referring to the trafficking ring they had busted. She had helped the league after all....she was there.

Wally bit his lip and nodded, "How is it not affecting you? Do you not feel bad for those kids?" He asked, "Like, the fact that someone could hurt children like that.....it." He paused and took a deep breath before continuing. "It just makes me sick, and...."

"Wally I do feel bad for the kids and all but it's alright now, they're safe and recovering. And we stopped it, no one else is going to get hurt," She replied shrugging. "It's not that big of a deal anymore."

"Not a big deal?" He asked, narrowing his eyes, "Ugh. Artemis we don't know who was behind it, how is it not a big deal?! It's a huge deal, what if it starts up again?"

"It won't start up again, we probably scared the person off. They won't risk it," She answered. 

"Doubt." A familiar voice replied from behind them.

Artemis turned around and saw Robin standing behind them, a frown on his face. "Oh, hey where have you been?" Artemis asked.

"Busy." Was all he said before heading down the hall and probably going to his room.

Artemis turned back to Wally, "What's up with him? He looks cranky." Which wasn't normal, he was usually pretty happy and talkative.

"He's just.....been really busy." Wally wasn't sure how else to respond.

"Oh was that why he wasn't with us when we helped the league?" She asked, she was hoping he'd help. After all, he seemed to be really hellbent on ending the trafficking ring. So she figured he would have been there.

"Uh, yeah." Wally stood up quickly, "I'm gonna go talk to him real quick. I'll be right back." He then quickly made his way to where he was hoping Robin would be and sure enough he was in his room.

"What do you want?" Robin grumbled looking up from his laptop.

"What are you doing here.....I thought you were supposed to be at home....you know until you're better?" He asked, closing the door.

Robin scowled and shut his laptop and sighed, "I am better." He had some very important things he needed to look into and find. And he'd rather do this alone...considering what he was looking for.

He needed to find whatever Crawford had that video on, a flash drive, laptop, phone, anything! He needed it and was not just going to stay down like a coward. He wanted to ruin that disgusting pig...but if he wanted to do that he had to get rid of the blackmail first.

Wally crossed his arms, "Who are you trying to fool?"

Robin rolled his eyes, "I'm not trying to fool anyone."

"Then why won't you tell us the truth, dude listen you're my best friend," Wally said sitting next to him. "And you can trust me." He was a trustworthy person......

Robin bit his lip, "You're not going to stop bothering me are you...."

"Nope." He grinned, "Not a chance."

He took a deep breath, "Will you keep your mouth shut if I tell you?" He asked quietly.

"Well of course but....you should really talk to Bruce about this. So he could get whoever is behind the trafficking ring, and whoever hurt you..." Wally didn't understand why Dick was so hellbent on keeping his mouth shut.

"Listen, If I tell Bruce. My life will be ruined." He looked down, "I know who it is, but if I tell you...you keep your mouth shut and you will help me out. Got it?"

"Got it, now tell me who it is."

"Daniel Crawford, rich guy in Gotham city," He said quickly.

Wally's eyes widened. "The guy who throws parties like....all the time?" He asked. "H-He's the guy?" He shook his head in disbelief, "Jesus. Why won't you say anything? You can get him busted!"

"If I open my mouth my life will be ruined....." He mumbled quietly, "H-H-He.....he's got blackmail. And if I don't get the....the-"

"Hey, dude. I'll help you find whatever dirt he has on you, okay? No more questions asked," He paused. "Wait...okay so what is this blackmail on?" He asked, "So we know what to look for?" He wanted so badly to go and tell Bruce the sick bastard's name. But he couldn't....he wanted his best friend to trust him. And he wanted to help him...even if this wasn't really the best way? Hey, it was still something.

"I...I don't know," Robin groaned putting his head in his hands, "Flash Drives maybe?" He suggested.

"That'll be a pain to find."

"Oh wow, a pain to find!? Thanks for letting me know!" Robin replied sarcastically. "I thought this would be super easy and fun!" He wasn't trying to be an asshole, he was beyond frustrated. And could Wally really blame him?!

Wally scowled, "Sorry...." He muttered.

Robin took a deep breath, "N-No. Don't be....I'm being an asshole." He didn't want to hurt Wally, he didn't deserve it. If anything Wally should just punch him....he would deserve that. "I'm sorry."

Wally put his hand on Robin's shoulder, "Dude. It's alright, I don't expect you to be sunshine and rainbows right now," He replied smiling softly.

Robin just nodded and bit his lip, he was thankful that he had Wally. He wouldn't know what to do without him, "Thanks."

"Alright, so if you were an old smelly man who had dirt on someone. Where would you hide it." Wally smirked, "Think dumb now, that old man doesn't seem very bright."

"He really isn't, he's like a dim light bulb."

Wally snickered, "So any stupid ideas?"

Robin laid down and stared at the ceiling deep in thought. Okay, Crawford was an idiot who didn't think through his actions. So he'd probably just leave a flash drive in his sock drawer or something....He quickly sat up. "Sock drawer or something?" He suggested.

Wally laughed, "Now that's the dumbest idea ever, probably where it is." He stood up, "Now how the hell do we get to his sock drawer?" He asked starting to frown, not like they could just waltz into the man's house and ask, Yo man you got something probably horrible and you're using it as dirt on my best friend. Could we have it back, please?

"He throws a lot of parties...." Robin replied, "Bruce is invited to them all, and he would drag me along. I could go to one of his parties and then y'know, go places I shouldn't and look for the flash drive?"

Wally scowled and shook his head quickly, "No, I don't want you near that sick bastard and who knows what'll happen. He could hurt you again, dude....." He was just concerned. "And I know very well that you don't want to see him again."

Robin sighed, he really didn't. He didn't want to see Crawford...but he had no choice honestly. He needed to get the blackmail and he needed to destroy Crawford. "Sacrifices have to be made." Even if it's facing Crawford. He had to do this, and he wasn't about to be a coward.

"Why can't you just tell Bruce, if you tell him that Crawford knows you're Robin and has proof. He'll be careful," Wally said, frowning. He really wanted to stop him from doing something stupid and he didn't want him to end up getting hurt again.

"He doesn't know that Wally! If anything, that's what I wish the blackmail was!" He cried out frustrated, the blackmail he did have on him was humiliating and he wanted it destroyed. He didn't want to see it, he didn't want Crawford to have it, and he sure as hell did not want anyone else to see that.

Wally was confused now, "It's not? Then what...?"

"T-Trust me, you don't want to know...." Robin grumbled.

____________________________

"You're completely useless."

Crawford took a deep breath, "Listen, Boss. I tried my best alright?" He replied nervously. This wasn't good, he was hoping he'd have at least a few days before the boss found out about the huge bust and losing millions.

God, he was dead.

"You just cost me millions, Daniel!" A rough voice replied loudly. "You're fucking useless, and all you do is use my STUFF!" The voice yelled.

Crawford's grip on the phone tightened, "You worked for me first Devon, you better take that back!" He growled, "I saved you and your stupid kid-"

"And then you fucked up." Devon growled.

"I fucked up?! You hurt him first, I only did what I had to do because you left me no other choice!" Crawford replied, he was beyond frustrated now.

"I hurt your stupid kid because you killed 20 of the brats I was going to sell! And if you would have paid me back and made it up, he'd still be alive."

"Your lucky your brat is useful," Crawford muttered, leaning back in his chair.

"Shut the fuck up and listen to me, you get me the money in two weeks and I'll let you live-"

"Let me live!?" He yelled, "Live?! You're trying to threaten me now?" Crawford scoffed, "I don't believe you, pull up your big girl panties and get the damn money yourself and stop with the childish orders or I kill the girl."

"For fucks sake, Daniel, get this through your thick fucking skull you donkey brained dick!" Devon screamed, "Get me my fucking money! You have no idea what I'm fucking capable of and I'll ruin you! You pay your debt and I Won't."

Crawford tapped his finger on his desk and leaned forward, "Fine. I'll get the money, but after this, I'm done. I'm backing out, you'll have enough money afterward."

"And you'll give her back."

He nodded, "Yes I'll give her back-"

"And the boy, I want him."

Crawford scowled, "No. No, he belongs to me now. I marked him, I took his innocence. And you already took something from me that I cannot get back, you can get your brat back." He then paused when he heard a click and the line went dead. Crawford threw the phone across his office, "Fucking bastard." He knew he shouldn't have gotten involved in this, he'd already lost so much and so much was at stake.

But then again, sacrifices had to be made.

______________________________________

He really regretted talking to Wally and telling him that Crawford did it, it wasn't that he didn't trust Wally....he did. But he just felt like a selfish idiot, if he just was honest Crawford would be brought down and the trafficking ring would be stopped permanently.

He was being so incredibly selfish.

He made himself sick in so many ways he couldn't even keep count.

He groaned and rested his head against his bedroom window, what was wrong with him? Why was he so selfish? Was he putting himself first right now? He was supposed to be a hero, someone who stood up for others no matter what.

And well....saved the day.

He was supposed to put other people first.

He sighed, "This fucking sucks," He grumbled. That was all he really had to say about this situation. It Didn't help that it was taking him so incredibly long to think of a plan.....ugh.  
"You're just making yourself feel worse."

Dick nearly jumped ten feet in the air and felt like his soul just died, he wasn't expecting a reply. He scowled and turned to the door and saw Barbara standing there with her arms crossed. Ugh, he'd been avoiding her...

"If you want to feel better, treat yourself better," She said, walking over to him. It was common sense.

He narrowed his eyes, what made her think that treating himself better would make himself better. What he needed right now was Crawford DEAD. That would be the only thing to make him better.

Crawford dead, burnt to ashes and dumped down a toilet.

"What makes you think I need to treat myself better?" He muttered looking back out the window.

He heard her scoff, "You look like shit."  
He turned back to her, "That's rude."

She sighed and sat down in front of him, "You look like you've gone days without sleep, haven't changed your clothes, and when's the last time you've showered!?" She hissed, "Look Dick. You're my best friend and I'm worried about you!"

He scowled and looked back out the window, "I'm fine."

"Get your ass in the shower and get into something clean. You can't just sit here and neglect yourself!" She hissed.

"I took one a few days ago," He mumbled. He was getting incredibly annoyed, could people stop bothering him? He just wanted to be left alone. Plus he had better things to worry about right now, like how to get that flashdrive. Wally said he'd help him and he was thankful he had such a good friend. But he couldn't help but be paranoid. Could he really trust Wally? But then again....it had been about a week now and he hadn't said anything yet.

And he hadn't even tried to get to Crawford's parties....shit. He had to stop being a coward and just go in and get out.

"When?" Barbara asked.

"Saturday," He replied.

"Yesterday?" She raised her eyebrows, "Today's Sunday..." He went silent and dodged an elbow to the side, "You haven't showered for a week!?" She stood up and took a deep breath. "Get in the shower and get into something other than sweatpants and sweatshirts. I'm taking you out, get some fresh air." She couldn't just let him sit in his room for days.....what kind of friend would she be if she let that happen?

"No."

"Stop being lazy!"

"I'm not."

"Yes. You. Are!" Barbara hissed, "Cut out the self-loathing, okay?! You're alive and safe at home, you should be happy!" She argued. She didn't understand why he was throwing himself a pity party! He was lucky to be alive, he should be thankful!

"Shut up." He really wanted to slap her across her face right now. But that was a horrible thing to do, he knew she was trying to help....even if her way of helping wasn't exactly helping. But still....he wasn't going out, he wasn't moving from this window seat. He was perfectly fine just sitting here with a blanket and staring out the window...

She scowled and grabbed his arm and dragged him off the window seat. "Come on!" She wasn't giving up. She was determined to get his ass into gear.

"Cut it out," He hissed pulling away from her.

"No!" She dragged him to the bathroom and pushed him inside, "Stay." She turned away and left Dick standing there in the doorway and before he could move a shirt was thrown in his face along with a pair of jeans and whatnot.

"Now get your ass in the shower!" She hissed.

He looked at the clothes, "How did you know where everything is....." He was more creeped out than annoyed. Or maybe both?

"Remember when you broke your arm a few months back?" She asked.

He furrowed his brows, "Uh...no." He'd broken bones way too much in the past year, he couldn't remember.

She rolled her eyes, "Heavy painkillers, dumped everything out while you whined that you wanted to build a blanket fort. So I had to put everything away," she explained.

"Oh." He went to walk out of the bathroom thinking he was off the hook but he was pushed back in and the door was slammed shut behind him.

"Don't come out until you're cleaned up!" Barbara yelled.

He scowled and dropped his clothes and went to open the door and sighed when it wouldn't budge, she must be leaning up against it or something. "Babs, come on....let me out!" He hissed. He felt pretty pathetic right now and pretty damn embarrassed that Barbara had to force him to take care of himself and she now thought he was lazy.

He wasn't lazy.

He just didn't like to...well see himself.

And it was weird when he first got home he couldn't stop taking showers. He felt dirty and no matter what he just couldn't get rid of that feeling and it was driving him crazy. After about a week or so he just couldn't stand to see himself, he'd see the bruises.....the marks Crawford had left....and the burn from that branding iron.

That hurt to look at.

It made him feel sick.

He felt like an object like he couldn't escape that disgusting bastard no matter what. And he really couldn't...until he had the flash drive or whatever Crawford had that video on he couldn't do anything about the trafficking ring.

"I don't hear the water running!" Barbara cried out, "Do I need to turn it on and push you in myself?!"

Dick took a deep breath, "Shut up."

______________________________

Artemis shivered and shoved her hands into her coat pocket, "So why are we here again?" She grumbled looking at Bette. Bette was one of her only friends at Gotham Academy, and really the only person she could stand. Sure she could be a brat still....but she was bearable.

Bette looked up from her phone, "Hanging out with a friend of mine, Barbara," She smiled. She wasn't actually a friend, more of a partner for an environmental science class. They had to get some leaves or something like that, she couldn't remember. But Barbara said to meet her at the park so they could collect some and since she didn't really know her all that well she figured she may as well drag Artemis along.

Artemis groaned and sat down on a bench, "It's so cold out here!" She hissed, "Why on earth would your teacher give you a project like this!?" She huffed, "And why did you insist I join you?"

Better rolled her eyes and looked back down at her phone, "Well you're the only friend I have that wasn't busy today. AND I didn't want to do this alone!" She replied.

"Why!? Are you scared of redheads or something?" She asked.

"Ugh, no I just don't know her that well and I figured it would be awkward," Bette replied.

"Then I'll be the third wheel."

Bette tapped her foot on the ground, "No. She's bringing a friend, Grayson I think.....?"

Artemis raised her eyebrows, "Richard Grayson?" She asked, she knew that kid. He'd helped out with the crazy maze guy and she'd seen him when they busted the trafficking ring...or well he didn't really see him but she heard that he was one of the victims found alive. "He's out already?" She stood up and stretched, she would have figured he'd be either in the hospital still or at home for a while. "Is he coming back to school anytime soon?"

She shrugged and sent a quick text, "Dunno." She sighed, "But then again it's none of my business."

"What's not your business?" A voice asked.

Bette jumped a bit and turned around and saw Barbara. "Oh hey, uh what took you so long?" She asked, smiling.

Barbara pointed at the person standing next to her, "Took me an hour to drag him out of his room."

"Shut up," Dick grumbled. Why did Barbara even insist on dragging him out here? He knew he'd be ignored pretty much and he didn't really want to be outside in the open. He was paranoid...

Barbara rolled her eyes, "So want to start the project?" She asked. Bette nodded and the two of them walked off while talking about what they could do.

Dick scowled and went to sit down but paused when he saw a very familiar person on the bench. Artemis? What the hell was she doing here? Did she just linger around at parks in her spare time? "You got dragged here too?" She asked moving over.

He reluctantly sat down and avoided eye contact, "Uh yeah....unfortunately." He looked down at the ground. He really wished Barbara didn't drag him along for no fucking reason, it made no sense!

Artemis sighed, "I'd rather be at home," She yawned. She had been up all night due to 'work' so she was exhausted. "But...Bette had to ruin it."

"You could have said no," He mumbled.

"You could have too, but didn't." She shrugged.

"She dragged me out of the house."

Artemis couldn't help but laugh, "That's pathetic."

Dick scowled, he wanted to comment how it was pathetic that her name was also her hero name but that wasn't wise. "How friendly."

She sighed and shrugged; she didn't really know this kid all that well so she didn't know what to say. Something about him was off though. Like she felt like she knew him but didn't...

Dick shifted uncomfortably when he noticed she was staring at him. He was about to say something but his phone started to ring, he sighed and took it out of his pocket and quickly stood up and moved away from Artemis and answered it, "Dude. What?" He asked quietly.

"Hey so I've been doing some digging on Crawface," Wally replied.

Dick scowled, "I told you not to do anything without me!" He hissed a little bit too loudly and Artemis looked over at him, her eyebrows raised.

"You wouldn't believe what I found though," Wally said quickly, "So I got onto the deep web right, a-and I found where he sells the victims!"

Dick paled, "You what?!" He cried out completely forgetting Artemis was sitting on the bench watching him. "Do you know how dangerous the deep web is? They can track you down! Ruin your computer and I will NOT fix the damn thing!" He scowled, not taking the time to process what Wally said.

"No listen, it's alright....I'm kinda a pro when it comes to the deep web. Just hear me out I found some helpful shit," He replied. "So the website he's got is called, C&M. And that's the logo."

"I know what the logo is, it's on my side," He muttered. "Did you find something that we don't already know?" He asked walking a bit more away from Artemis, she obviously had no idea what he was talking about right now so he wasn't too worried.

"Okay well, it gets even better, or well worse. So after digging around, I found some sort of forum or something, like....like it's people on there discussing what they want. They're dropping names." Wally paused, "I don't have names of the people, but they're dropping names of kids they want....."

Dick took a deep breath, "Like....right now?" He asked.

"Yes! This trafficking ring is still running!" Wally replied frustrated, "The league obviously didn't scare him off."

Dick tapped his foot on the ground, "Get a list of the names dropped," He said quietly. "I'm on my way."

"Alright, see you soon."

Dick quickly hung up and Artemis looked over at him, "What was that all about?" She asked. Seemed to be a very stressful conversation considering how upset Dick looked.

He shook his head and put his phone back in his pocket, "Uh...Bruce needs me. Tell Barbara I had to leave." He then quickly turned away and made his way to the nearest Zeta-tube (Beam? I can't remember) 

__________________________________

Robin rushed into the mountain and walked right by Conner who seemed to be leaving, "Do we have a mission?" Conner asked Robin, he was getting bored. The last mission they had was a month ago and he didn't like just sitting around here.

Robin pulled away and shook his head and then ran off to where Wally's room was and he quickly opened the door without knocking. "Did you get the list?" He asked, stepping over random objects.

Wally looked up from his laptop and tossed a notebook at Robin, "Yeah right when the site shut down."

Robin scowled, "Shut down?" God dammit.

Wally sat up and moved over and Robin sat down next to him, "It kicked me off and won't let me get back onto it...." He muttered clicking the link a few more times. The screen then flickered and went black. "Fuck."

"Dammit," Robin hissed. "Give it to me."

"Uh...yeah about that......" Wally nervously smiled, "This is uh your laptop. Mine's busted...." He kinda broke his awhile ago and then used Megan's....then he broke that one and now he had been using Robins.

"Dammit, Wally!" He rubbed his temples and grabbed the laptop, it was spazzing out just like Megan's had and he honestly had no idea how to fix it. "Next time you go on the deep web. Don't use my stuff!" Okay deep breath, it was just a laptop. It was alright, at least Wally got the names written down. He took a very deep breath, "But....at least you got names."

Wally nodded seeming to be thankful he hadn't been punched in the face yet. "Yeah, there's twenty." He frowned, "All have Black hair and blue eyes and live in Gotham. But this time they aren't wealthy....that's the only real difference."

"It's still gotta be Crawford obviously, you said the logo was C&M?" He asked, reading through the list quickly. That sick fuck was going to be gutted.

"Yeah."

"Then it's him," He replied.

"So what now?" Wally asked, pushing the now ruined laptop aside.

"We figure out more about the names dropped and try to find out what Crawford's next move is," Robin said standing up.

Wally frowned "Stop making this sound easy, Dude." He doubted they'd be able to find anything out on those names dropped. "He's going for the 'not rich' kids now, we know nothing about them! How the hell can we help them?" He asked.

Robin bit his lip and went silent, he really wished the site didn't crash. "Wait, Artemis has a laptop right?" He asked.

Wally nodded, "Think she has it in her room here."

Robin smirked and went into the hall and a few minutes later returned with hers, "We need to get on that website." 

He was disgusted honestly.

He knew the deep web was bad, he'd been on it a few times but he never actually looked for the really 'bad' websites. More of just wanting to get onto the deep web so he could say, oh yeah I've been on it.

But right now he really would rather not be looking at Crawford's absolutely sick fucking website he had. It was set up like Amazon....sorta but instead of selling a whole bunch of different things the only things for sale were children.

Robin put his head in his hands and took a deep breath, "This is fucking sick."

Wally who was sitting beside him frowned and nodded, "We'll ruin him, dude. He seriously can't go on with this much longer." Right? Honestly, it was a sick miracle that he hadn't been caught already with this huge website.

"I just don't understand why someone would turn another person into a product....." He really wanted to shut this laptop and burn it and forget he ever saw this but the poor thing was already acting pretty weird. The battery was draining like crazy and it was starting to freeze. So he was starting to think that this website had some huge ass virus on it. Or well it did....this was the deep web.

"Did he ever say why when..." Wally paused, "Well did he ever say anything?" This was a touchy subject.

Robin sighed, "I don't know. I honestly don't remember a whole lot of what he said...." He remembered what happened, unfortunately. He just didn't remember their conversations all that well, "I think I asked him once and he told me he'd cut my tongue out if I kept being annoying." He tapped his finger on the keyboard, "Guess he's just sick and twisted."

Didn't always need a reason to be fucked up.....

"Do you recognize any of these kids at all?" He asked, they were currently scrolling through what 'thing' Crawford had available so it meant that he still had victims locked up somewhere.

"No." Robin let out a frustrated sigh and he pushed the laptop aside, he wanted to just show Bruce this. This was all the evidence he needed to put Crawford away for good but the moment Crawford felt like they were onto him he'd release the video... "But we have names of future victims so I suppose we can start there."

"We don't even know these kids though, they didn't give any addresses. It's going to take us forever to hunt them down and by then he's gonna have them already!" Wally exclaimed, frustrated. "This is hopeless..."

"We'll figure something out-"

Wally scowled, "Tell Batman."

"No!" He hissed, "We can't tell him!" He would be ruined! Ruined more than he already was!

"If Batman knows he can HELP us get the blackmail AND help those kids!" Wally cried out growing frustrated. He didn't understand why he was being so stubborn and selfish! "If he knows that Crawford has blackmail on you he'll understand."

Robin shook his head frantically, "N-NO!" He couldn't know he couldn't know! He didn't want Bruce to be more disappointed in him, he hated letting him down.

"If you think he's going to hate you because of what Crawford did, then you need to get your thoughts straightened out. What happened was out of your control, Dick. Crawfords a sick man and the only way we can bring him down is with Bruce's help!" Wally frowned, "Come on....let's just tell him."

"You don't understand Wally!" He yelled, "I was weak! I let it happen, I-I could have done something but I didn't!" And he knew Bruce would kill him for that, he'd be disgusted and angry and Robin would be done for.

"It wasn't your fault!"

"Shut up okay!?" He yelled, "Just forget about it, I shouldn't have told you anything!" He knew he should have kept his mouth shut, he had to stop trusting people! He clenched his fists and stormed out of the room not caring enough to hear Wally's reply.

He didn't need anyone's help.

He'd fucking destroy Crawford and everything he had HIMSELF. He didn't care what he had to do, but he would destroy him! Burn down his house, slit his throat! Anything to ruin him....get rid of him for good.

Fucking bastard. 

She rummaged through the drawers, tossing out what she didn't need. She needed one thing and she was going to find it! She soon grew frustrated and grabbed the drawer and dumped it out, flash drives, papers, and pictures falling to the floor.

Her heart rate picked up and she frantically went through the papers and pictures. The pictures were of people she didn't know, other victims? She grabbed them and stuffed it in her purse. She'd burn those so they didn't have to take the risk she was.

But she had to tell someone.

She couldn't just let that man go free! She needed the picture he took and she needed to burn it and then flush the remains down the shitter.

Her hands shook as she shoved the drawer into place and grabbed another one dumping the items on the ground. Flash Drives? Just lots and lots of flash drives, she groaned and grabbed as many as she could and stuffed it into her purse.

She didn't know what was on these flash drives but she was taking them. She could look at them later; she just needed to get out of here.

She was just about to shove the drawer back into place but she froze when she heard voices. She quickly stood up, her legs were trembling and she bolted to the window and slid it open, she then tossed her purse out onto the grass and jumped down and yelped when she landed on her ankle wrong.

She took a deep shaken breath and grabbed her purse and she dashed over to the side of the yard where there was a large bush and she hid behind it. She felt like her heart was going to explode.

"Good job Evelyn," She whispered. "You just stole from a crazy rapist." She sighed and slowly stood up her knees still shaking. That was a huge thrill, but   
she was NEVER doing that again. She hopefully got something that she was looking for.

She sighed and slowly snuck out of the yard.

She really had to move out of Gotham after this.


	9. Chapter 9

She had a few options honestly.

She could turn in the videos and pictures she had gotten from Daniel Crawford's property and tell the police. Burn the flash drives and photos, or give them to the other people affected by Crawford.

She knew she couldn't just burn them. This stuff could put Crawford in prison for life! She couldn't just get rid of that chance because she knew just telling the cops wouldn't be enough. Crawford was rich and he probably had friends in higher places and if they didn't have solid evidence...

He'd weasel his way out of every charge sent his way.

Evelyn took a deep breath, so she really only had two options. Give the blackmail to the others or just turn it into the police, giving it to the police sounded so much easier but she didn't like the idea of releasing the videos and photos. The whole purpose of having them was to scare the others to keep quiet....they didn't want anyone to see what Crawford had done with them. And she didn't want to have to put them in that situation...sure turning them in right away was going to help but...ugh.

This was a lot harder than she hoped it would be.

She knew she was turning hers in as soon as possible because she wanted Crawford to rot. But she didn't want to do it alone...just the idea of going to the GCPD and just handing them the blackmail scared the hell out of her.

Okay...so maybe she could give the blackmail to the victims....? No...then she'd actually have to look at them in order to see who she had to give it to!

"Fuck my life," She muttered. She quickly stood up and paced back and forth silently in her room. She didn't have a lot of options right now.....

______________________________________

He had to tell Bruce, he couldn't just keep vital information away from him. Bruce deserved to know...

No. Bruce would find out that it was Crawford eventually....he was the world's greatest detective he'd find out without being told. He would...

No. He wouldn't, that's why he needed to be told right now.

Dick stared at Bruce's office door and took a deep breath. Okay, he could do this all he had to say was that it was Daniel Crawford who was running the trafficking ring. That's all he had to say. Then he could just walk out no more said.

See easy?

Dick bit his lip, all night he had been going through what he'd say and he'd changed his mind multiple times. Yes, he'd do it....no he wouldn't. Yes? No?

He didn't know what he wanted to do anymore honestly. He knew that if he just told Bruce everything he wouldn't have to stress about this anymore and Bruce would take care of everything.

Alright, he'd do it. Right now.

Dick took a deep breath and was about to knock on the door but jumped when his phone went off. Dick scowled and took out his phone, caller unknown. He just put his phone back in his pocket; it was probably just a telemarketer.

But not even two seconds later his phone went off again.

Dick clenched his teeth and walked away from Bruce's office and took out his phone. "Hello?" He asked. He didn't want to sound annoyed or anything but he probably did.

"Is this Richard Grayson?" An unfamiliar female voice asked.

"Who's this?" He replied. He wasn't about to have a conversation with a stranger, he wasn't taking any risks with people. Too many creeps.

"Evelyn Myers, look I have something you're going to want. Just please meet me at the Starbucks near the park downtown, please!"

Dick leaned against the wall and was silent for a moment, "Look I know this is probably hella creepy but I swear to God I'm on your side," Evelyn said desperately.

Evelyn Myers, he recognized that name. He had actually found her in that Cabin in Bludhaven, she was one of Crawford's other victims. "What do you have?" He asked he wasn't leaving until he knew what she had. What if this was some trap? What if she was being blackmailed into contacting him and getting him out in the open...?

"Something you don't want anyone to see," She replied quickly.

Something he didn't want anyone to see? Wait, blackmail. He didn't want people to see that....was that what she was talking about?! How did she get it? "W-Wait what.....?" He asked quietly, "How...?"

"Just meet me at the Starbucks near the park downtown, I'll explain everything then. I swear." 

Okay well, now he felt like he had to go. "Alright." He then hung up and exhaled. Alright, this was probably a terrible idea since he didn't even know if he could trust her right now. She could be fooling him and the only way he could find out of she was being honest was to meet up with her.

She did have something he REALLY wanted. Or at least he really hoped she had it and she'd just hand it to him so this nightmare and constant paranoia could end.

But then again....this was way too good to be true. There had to be some strings attached. 

_______________

He had never actually been inside of a Starbucks mostly because he didn't really care much for their overpriced fancy coffee...or the loud obnoxious girls gossiping at almost every table. Or the fact they could never spell your name even if it was the easiest thing to do. But whatever he wasn't here to complain, he was here for one reason.

Get the flash drive and leave.

Just as he started to look for her his phone went off. One new message.....

I'm by the restrooms.

He put his phone back in his pocket and pushed past a group of loud hipster girls and quickly saw Evelyn sitting alone at a table right next to the restrooms just like she had said. How did she even get his number? He didn't give it out to people....only people who had his number were Bruce, Barbara, and Wally.

He didn't even have social media....never really had the time or interest in having one.

"How did you get my number?" He asked, sitting down across from her.

"No hello?" She asked trying to smile but she quickly frowned when all she got was a glare. "I asked Barbara," She replied. "Sorry this is all sudden, didn't mean to creep you out... I just figured you'd want this." She then placed a flash drive on the table.

Dick quickly grabbed it, was this the blackmail? "How did you get this?" He asked. He felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

She sighed and leaned back in her chair and frowned. "He didn't let me forget what he did to me," She said quietly. "The moment I was released from the hospital he'd text me just to torment me a-and he knew he could get away with it." She clenched her fists, "He told me that if I didn't show up at his parties or m-meet up with him he'd release the video he had of him hurting me." She took a slow deep breath, "So I decided to make the best out of my shitty situation. I pretty much stalked him, I knew when he'd leave Gotham and when he'd come back. I knew the security he had and I was able to sneak into his office....went through all his drawers and found at least Twenty flash drives and just random pictures of past victims," She explained.

"He kept everything in his office.....?" Dick asked he wished he'd known that would have been easy to get them. He frowned, "Just in a drawer....?" He shook his head, "Doesn't make any sense. Why would he go through all the trouble of keeping us quiet.....and just leave everything out in the open." He had a hard time believing Crawford would be so careless.

She shrugged, "I just grabbed the flash drives and didn't really think much about why he'd leave them there," She replied. Maybe she should have taken a moment and thought about it, maybe he had backups? Did he know she had been planning to steal from him?

Fuck.

Dick stared down at the flashdrive he was holding. Something felt wrong about this. "And how did you know this was my blackmail?" He asked. She didn't look at it, did she?

Evelyn was silent for a moment, "Well I had to look at all of them so I'd know who to give it too." She scowled, "You're the only one other than me who stayed in Gotham, everyone else moved away."

He stared at her wide-eyed, "You.....saw it," He said quietly.

"I swear I only watched a minute of it so I could see your face. I didn't watch anything else!" She said quickly. "A-And you don't need to worry about anyone else seeing or hearing about it. My lips are sealed."

He didn't know what to say anymore, or how to feel right now. He had the blackmail and he could ruin Crawford....he should be happy.

But he wasn't, he was just disappointed. Why didn't he man up and try and get it himself? He felt pretty useless. "Thanks."

She smiled, "Crawford is as good as dead now," She said happily standing up. "Now I have a quick question. I'm going to turn my...blackmail over to the Police do you want me to turn yours in too?" She asked.

His grip on the flashdrive tightened, "No," He said quickly "I don't want anyone else seeing this." Selfish but there was no way in hell he was letting anyone see this.

"I understand." She grabbed her purse, "Mine should be enough to put Crawford away for life." She grinned, "Thanks for meeting up with me," She said waving.

Dick just nodded and watched her walk off and he bit his lip and looked at the flashdrive once more. Should he turn this into the Police? He closed his eyes and just sat there alone silently and just stared at the flashdrive.

You've been drowning in self pity for too long. Fucking man up and tell Bruce.

Dick quickly stood up. He was doing it, he was going to tell Bruce and he wasn't going to back out at the last minute this time he was going to do it.

He would tell him everything. 

_________________

Dick rushed into the Batcave, "Bruce!" He yelled. He seemed to have got here just in time Bruce was just about to put on his cowl and head to the Watchtower. "Bruce," He said running over to him, his heart pounding. "W-We....I-I...." He took a deep breath. "I need to talk to you about something." There was no backing out now he had to tell Bruce the truth.

Bruce paused and put his cowl down, "What's wrong?" He asked, "Did something happen?" He asked Dick looked like he saw a ghost or something he was pale and shaking.

"I...." He looked around and when he was sure Alfred wasn't down here he looked back at Bruce and he bit his lip. He felt like he was going to faint. He didn't know what to say he didn't know.....

Bruce would be pissed and disgusted.

He'd been lying about what had happened for over a month now, he said he had no idea who the person behind the trafficking ring was and he also told Bruce that he hadn't been raped.

He couldn't deny the fact he'd been....hurt. But he'd denied being raped.....

Dick looked away from Bruce, "I wasn't honest with you Bruce...." He whispered, his voice trembling. He didn't want to tell Bruce...he wanted to back out and die in a hole right now.

Bruce was very concerned and he didn't understand what Dick meant, "Dick what are you talking about?" He asked softly. He was incredibly concerned now, Dick had done a lot of stupid shit with Wally in the past year.....so at first he was expecting a confession about how some explanation for a stupid prank they pulled was a lie. But he highly doubted that now considering Dick seemed to be on the verge of tears.

"I lied about the trafficking ring!" He said quickly. He had to force himself to say that and he clenched his eyes shut, "I lied when I said I didn't know w-who was behind it." He bit his lip.

Bruce frowned, he remembered when Dick had denied knowing anything. He told the police that he'd been drugged the whole time and he couldn't remember much of what happened. And it frustrated Bruce because he had been stumped on that case and the fact that Dick was keeping vital information to himself was infuriating but Dick had to have a reason...

Dick felt like crying, Bruce had to be pissed. He was all quiet and he seemed so disappointed. "Be honest with me Dick," Bruce replied.

"Daniel Crawford, he's the person running the trafficking ring Bruce." Dick fidgeted with his hands and avoided eye contact. "He blackmailed me Bruce, I-I wanted to tell you everything.....but he told me that if he even suspected I ratted him out he'd make sure I went down with him." He grabbed a flashdrive from his pocket and handed it to Bruce, his hands trembling. "Please don't hate me," Dick whimpered.

Bruce clenched his fists, Daniel Crawford.

Daniel Crawford had been abducting Children and selling them. How had he not realized this sooner?! It all made sense! As soon as he moved into Gotham children had started to go missing and almost all of them had been at his parties.

That sick fucking bastard.

Bruce looked at Dick, "Daniel Crawford....was he who hurt you?" He asked softly. "Does he know our identities...is that how he blackmailed you?" Did the flashdrive have evidence?

Dick avoided eye contact, "He....doesn't know."

Suddenly It clicked, "Dick.....did he....?"

Dick stared at the ground and nodded. 

That sick fucking bastard is going to have every bone in his pathetic body shattered.

"Please don't hate me Bruce!" Dick sobbed, he was disgusting, impure, a whore. He wouldn't blame Bruce if he did hate him.

Bruce knelt down, he was never really good with comforting people. He was good at smashing criminals bones which he fully intended on doing to Crawford tonight...after he helped Dick. "What happened wasn't your fault, Dick," Bruce said softly.

Dick slowly looked at Bruce, "B-But I didn't stop him Bruce. I let it happen!" He cried out frustrated. "I b-beat criminals up in my spare time and I couldn't even stop one old man fr-"

"Dick, it wasn't your fault," Bruce said once again. "Crawford is a sick bastard and I swear to God I'll never let him hurt you or anyone else again." And he'd no longer be a man when he was finished with the sick bastard. "He's going to pay for what he did Dick."

Dick looked at Bruce, his eyes watering. "Promise?" He asked quietly.

"I'm a man of my word," Bruce replied.

Dick smiled softly, he felt like everything was alright for the first time in two months. 

Crawford was going to burn now.

_____________________________________________________

"There's a warrant for your arrest, Daniel. You better not be in Gotham still!"

"I'm in Bludhaven at a safehouse Devon. I'm not stupid," Crawford growled pacing back and forth. He felt his blood boil, a stupid brat had broken into his office and found the majority of his flash drives. He was going to release the remaining blackmail to the public but the brats had all moved. 

The only two still in Gotham were Grayson and Myers and their blackmail was gone and the last thing he wanted to do was sit on the phone with Devon for an hour.

So he had no other choice than running to one of his safehouses in Bludhaven. He was planning on heading to Star City as soon as he could he didn't want to risk being caught by the police.

"Yet you're stupid enough to keep illegal porn in your office," Devon growled. "You've fucking ruined the entire operation!"

Crawford scowled and sat down on an old torn couch ugh this safehouse was by far one of his trashiest. "Shut up, the operation isn't completely ruined....just delayed."

"I swear to god if there's anything that's pointing to me I'll disembowel you!" Devon screamed.

Crawford rubbed his ear and put the phone call on speaker, Devon's voice was killing his ears. "I had every computer removed from the property before I left. There's no other evidence other than what the police got their grubby hands on," He replied.

Devon was silent and he took a deep breath, "You can't be working for me anymore."

"I never wanted to fucking work with you to begin with!" Crawford snapped. "This was your idea, I only said I'd fund it! Not actually mess with the kids!" He clenched his fists, "My son is dead because of this mess you put me in!"

"I put you in this? You knew very well what you were getting yourself into, and from what I recall it was YOU who suggested going after the rich brats and it was YOU who wanted to fucking rape them all!" Devon scoffed, "You're a sick pedophile and you want to put all the blame on me!"

"I'm not a pedophile!"

"Then what the hell are you!?" Devon hissed, "Someone who likes to get close to kids!? Who's sexually attracted to them? I'm pretty damn sure that's a pedophile, Daniel." 

Crawford took a deep, "Don't you be labeling me when you're no better!" He replied. "You came to me with this 'idea' and I made it happen."

"It wasn't my intention to kidnap rich kids, just the brats on the streets!" Devon argued, "You brought up the idea to get the rich kids and you started to mess with them! Because of you, you brought down their value and you've made me lose so much money! You owe me half a million." 

"I'm not giving you a dime, you killed him."

"I didn't kill him-"

"Well, it's your fucking fault, Devon!"

"Let's argue about this clusterfuck later...right now you need to move the operations elsewhere. The police are probably going through what buildings you own, order everyone to move EVERYTHING to the address I sent you."

Crawford stood up and stared out the grimy window, "Everything? How the hell can we get everything in one building at once? We've got a lot....." He asked scowling. "It'll be overcrowded..."

"Since when do you care what conditions we keep them in? Right now we need them moved so that we don't lose any more money, we lost good money when we lost the brats in Bludhaven to the police and the Superfreaks."

"How can we sell them if they're sick and dying-"

"You've killed 20 of them in the past year!"

"Alright I'll have them all moved tonight," Crawford muttered. He had over 50 buildings full of brats, drugs, and weapons he had no idea how Devon thought he could have everything in one place. He sighed and quickly hung up and just stared out the window, tonight was going to be a long night.

  
_____________________________

"Why are you always cleaning your arrows?"

Artemis scowled and looked up at Wally who was sitting on the couch, "Why are you always annoying?" She asked. The truth was she didn't have anything else to do, it was like the universe had no other purpose for her right now. Or maybe this was how conversations in this place started? "Why don't you go bother Robin or something...."

"I haven't seen him in a few days actually," Wally replied frowning. They had kinda gotten into an argument and he hadn't heard from him since....he was really worried. A lot was going on with him.

"Is he okay? He's been weird when he does drop by." Artemis was growing concerned. He was normally a happy person and for the past month, he'd been quiet and incredibly distant. She really hoped he was okay...

"Uh, yeah just a lot's been going on in Gotham." Wally shrugged it wasn't a complete lie, a lot was going on but he left out a lot. If Robin wanted to discuss what was bothering him to anyone he could.....but Wally knew he wouldn't.

"Hope he's alright-" Artemis started to say.

"He is."

Artemis and Wally both looked up and saw Robin standing behind the couch, "When'd you get here?" Wally asked standing up quickly.

"A minute ago, where are the others?" He asked.

"Uh, I'm not sure actually...." Artemis replied, "I can go look for you." She stood up and walked down the hall, "CONNER!" She yelled loudly. He could probably hear them right now so yelling wasn't necessary....but Artemis was good at yelling so she was going to yell anyway.

Wally waited a moment and when he was sure Artemis was out of earshot he turned to his friend, "How are you feeling?" He asked quietly.

"Fine. A warrant for Crawford's arrest is out, someone got the evidence needed....." He scowled, "But the bastard managed to disappear." He sighed, "So we've gotta hunt him down now." He wasn't really upset about that, he was honestly expecting Crawford to put his tail between his legs and run like the coward he was the moment the blackmail went missing. He was actually looking forward to hunting him down.....oh the things he could do.

"It was found?" Wally grinned, "Dude that's awesome! You're in the clear!"

Robin shrugged and started to walk over to the briefing room, "Not completely in the clear Wally. We still need to find him and stop him from continuing what he's doing," He replied, Crawford would be predictable. He was crazy and made stupid decisions so he'd be easy to take down just not easy to find.

Wally froze, "We?" He asked his eyes wide. "We as in the team!?"

"Why do you think I'm here?"

"To see my glorious face?" Wally asked.

Robin just shook his head, "Yes...of course, Wally." He wasn't really in the mood to joke around; he just wanted to tell the team what they were going to do, how they were going to do it and then find Crawford as soon as possible. He was really itching to break Crawford's face...

"We have a mission?" Conner asked walking over to him, Megan and Artemis following behind him.

"YES!" Wally was so ready for this he was sick of sitting around and waiting for something to happen. "We're going to ruin Crawface." He wanted to crush every single bone in that disgusting man's body.

"Who?" Megan asked, confused. "Who's Crawface...a new bad guy?" Didn't the world have enough horrible people?

"Daniel Crawford, He's the man who is running the trafficking ring," Robin explained, he had a lot more things to say about him but they were all very unfriendly and those words would probably make Alfred faint. "Video evidence linking him to the ring had been given to the GCPD and a warrant for his arrest is out....but he's disappeared and the cops so far are unable to find him."

"So he's run off like a coward," Artemis said, crossing her arms. "He should be fun to find." She had wanted to punch the person behind the trafficking ring for awhile now...and now she had a name. "I'd love to knock all his teeth out." What a sick man.

"That can be arranged," Robin mumbled under his breath. Very violent and it wouldn't probably be necessary...but he wouldn't feel bad.

"Why isn't Batman handling this?" Kaldur asked, approaching them. He was a tad bit late to the meeting but at least he was here.

"He is," Robin replied. "Crawford has over 50 safehouses." He frowned, "Batman is working on finding where Crawford has other victims of the trafficking hidden." Sad to know he still was holding victims. He couldn't imagine how bad things were for them...

"I thought we already saved everyone?" Conner asked confused, "He has more?"

"Well, that's what we believe....after....looking into what he's been doing we've found out that not everyone is used for their organs." He sighed, "So it's still possible there are people alive. We just don't know where they are...like I said before he has a lot of buildings."

"If we have to look through all of the buildings there's no way we'll find him. He'll just find a way to get out of the country," Artemis said scowling. "We won't find him in time....." This was going to be a nightmare. "The only way we found the first building was because Wally somehow got there....." She still had no idea how or why he was there but he saved a few peoples lives.

"Hey Robin helped me find that place, he should get some credit too!" Wally replied, smiling.

"I did?" Robin asked,he didn't remember helping Wally at all. Wait how did he find him anyways? "How?" He didn't think he'd be much help considering all he did was be a complete coward. After a few seconds of silence, he sighed, "Alright back on topic." A holographic screen appeared and a map of Bludhaven was on it. "The majority of his safehouses are in Bludhaven," He explained. "So far we've gone through the old factory by the campgrounds and another smaller building nearby."

"Why Bludhaven?" Wally asked, "Why not scatter them a bit more?" Why would someone be stupid enough to have buildings with illegal stuff in the same city....the risk of them all being found out was high.

"The police there are trash," Robin replied quickly. It was harsh to say but it was true...jeez he really needed to help them out someday.

"Like the GCPD?" Artemis asked, smirking slightly.

"Worse, Bludhaven doesn't have Gordon." Robin turned back to the map, "Now getting back on topic....again. Crawford owns a transportation company and he's been using his employee's and trucks to transport drugs, weapons and trafficking victims from city to city." He didn't know why Crawford was stupid enough to use his own company's trucks to move everything it was idiotic! If a truck was pulled over and the cops found out what was inside...well that would be a disaster for Crawford.

Wonder why it hasn't happened before?

"The GCPD has already shut down his company for investigation and four of the trucks are missing." Didn't take a genius to figure out something big was going on. Missing trucks at a time like this? Hmm.

"He's transporting victims," Conner said, crossing his arms. "He's trying to move everything before it's found, he knows we know where his safehouses are. He knows we know where to look."

"Any idea where the trucks could be?" Kaldur asked.

"Batman has been looking for them," Robin replied.

"Oh so he'll find them in like twenty minutes then," Wally said smiling.

"Really?" Megan asked, her eyebrows raised. "Wow."

"Well, he is the world's greatest detective." Wally grinned. He was so looking forward to bringing Crawford down he wanted so badly to beat the shit out of that man. No one hurt his best friend and got away with it.

_______________________

"Is everything on the truck yet?" Crawford asked he was currently outside one of his warehouses. This one only had a small amount of his merchandise, twenty brats mostly just useless street rats that would be sold to people that needed body parts of test subjects. And he had a few crates full of scopolamine.

Scopolamine was his best-selling drug.

But it was expensive to get and if this building was busted he'd be out millions and Devon would slit his throat. God, he hated working for that bitch, he was so incredibly ungrateful! He had helped that man out of poverty and what did he get in return?

A dead kid. 

"We've just got a few more things to put load up," A man replied.

"Good, tell the others to hurry their asses up. After everything is where it should burn the place down," Crawford ordered.

The man furrowed his brows, "But boss.....it'll catch the attention of the cops-"

"If the place is burning down they won't find anything!" He yelled. He hated working with these idiots!

The man sighed, "Whatever you say...I'll tell the others," He muttered walking away to where about five other men were loading up a truck. "The boss said hurry your asses up!" The man goon 1 said loudly.

One of the goons, goon 2 looked up and wiped off his forehead and pushed a crate in. "We're going as fast as-" He started to say but something black hit his shoulder and he stumbled back and held his shoulder. "W-WHAT THE FUCK!?" He yelled, "OW GOD!" His shoulder was throbbing. 

Goon 1 stepped back and looked around frantically while the others took out their weapons. "What hit you?" He hissed.

Goon 2 grumbled something, "Something black looking, like a boomerang or something!"

"Shit!" Goon 3 said starting to run off, "FUCK THIS!" He was just about to run off down the gravel road but he collapsed and howled in pain. Something had hit him as well.

Goon 1 aimed his gun at the roof of the warehouse and started to shoot. He didn't know what was up there but that had to be where the flying objects were coming from. His eyes widened when he saw something black dash off or something. "IT'S THE BAT!" He dropped his gun and ran to the driver's seat of the truck while one of the others slammed the back shut. He was about to go into the passengers' seat but the truck sped off down the driveway without   
him.

"HE LEFT?!" One of the others cried out confused, "H-HE...HE LEFT US WITH THE BAT!?" He quickly tossed the gun aside and put his hands up. He was not even going to try and beat Batman...there was no chance he'd beat the guy.

"Don't give up you coward!" One hissed holding his gun tighter. He couldn't see where the Batman was right now he completely disappeared. "Go up to the roof, shoot anything that moves," He whispered to another.

The goon gulped and slowly made his way over to a ladder that went up to the roof and he climbed it. This was going to end badly and he knew it because there was no way he would kick Batman's ass, Batman was going to kick his. The goon stood up and looked around on the roof; he couldn't see anything. He sighed a breath of relief and was about to turn and get off the roof but froze when he saw something he quickly turned around and shrieked when he was grabbed and pushed to the edge of the roof.

"Where's Daniel Crawford!" Batman growled holding the man over the edge. "Tell me!"

The goon screamed and looked down and then back at Batman. "I-I don't know!" He cried out, "I was just loading up the trucks!" He was probably going to piss himself, "That's all I was doing I swear!"

Batman narrowed his eyes and pulled him away from the edge and pushed him down and stood over him, "Don't make me break every bone in your body." He wasn't bluffing either, he had absolutely no problem with hurting anyone who was helping Daniel Crawford.

"Fine fine!" The man scooted away and yelped when he was grabbed by the collar of his shirt.

"Tell me!"

"O-Old animal shelter that's all I know! H-He said something about an old animal shelter and an old school. I don't know where or which one he's going to...b-but that's what I heard."

Batman scowled and quickly knocked the goon out and tossed him aside. He got two possible locations.

"Robin has the team left the mountain yet?" He asked heading to the edge of the roof, he needed to take care of the rest of the goons. The fools were standing down there waiting for their friend to come back down.

"We're just about to head to the first location you gave me," Robin replied.

"Forget about that one, look into any abandoned schools and animals shelters in Bludhaven. Contact me when you find something and then split the team up and go there."

"Sure thing Batman."

_____________________________________

It wasn't that hard to find a list of abandoned places in Bludhaven. There was an old high school that had shut down a while ago. But it wasn't under Crawford's name, he didn't own it. It belonged to John Doe.

"So John Doe owns the school....great," Artemis scowled, crossing her arms. "That could literally be anyone....."

"Why did they let John Doe buy an old school?" Wally asked.

"Like I said before, Welcome to Bludhaven," Robin replied. Well, they had one place down; they just needed to find an old animal shelter. "So we've got the school we just need to find the animal shelter....." He mumbled. "Oh wait I think I've got it," He said quickly, "There are six animal shelters that aren't in use but five belong to the city still-"

"So the one that has to belong to Crawford," Conner said.

"No, it belongs to John Doe again," Robin scowled and stood up. "So that has to be it."

"Is it really a wise idea to split up?" Kaldur asked, breaking his silence. Man, he's been quiet today.

"No it isn't wise but the chance of us catching Crawford would be higher. If he's in one of the buildings and we all go to the wrong one he could easily disappear again," Robin explained. "If we split up and he really is in one of the buildings we WILL catch him and he'll get what he deserves. And if we all do what we're supposed to and no one runs off and does something brash...." Robin made instant eye contact with Wally and Wally quickly looked away. "We should be alright."

"I've gotten better with the whole running right into the action thing," Wally said, crossing his arms. "I've matured quite a bit-"

"No you haven't Wally," Artemis grumbled. "Now shut up I really want to punch Crawford in the face." She sighed, "You'd probably mess so-"

"Artemis!" Robin hissed standing up, "You and Wally can bicker later. We have something very important we have to do, and we're going to do it right!!" He should have just gone and looked for Crawford alone....the chances of something going wrong would be smaller.

God this was going to be hell.

___________________________________________

"This place looks huge...." Kid Flash whispered.

Kid Flash, Artemis, and Robin were currently hiding in a tree overlooking a large school. "This must have cost a fortune....." Artemis replied. How the hell were they supposed to get in there? She could see people on the roof and it looked like they were armed. Man Crawford seemed desperate to keep people out...

"It didn't, this school isn't worth much. It was shut down before it even really opened. The building failed all inspections...it's unstable and very dangerous." Robin narrowed his eyes, "So whoever bought this place probably got it cheap...."

Kid Flash nodded slowly. "How do we get in without being seen by the people on the roof?" He asked. "The second they see us we're going to get shot...."

"Maybe Superboy should have gone with us instead of you," Artemis shrugged looking at Kid Flash.

"Quit it." Robin jumped down from the tree. "There should be an entrance to an old cellar nearby. If we find it we can go in and get inside the school without being seen."

Artemis jumped down and followed him, "How'd you know that?"

"I looked at the blueprints on the way here."

Kid Flash trailed behind them while they talked quietly. He had that feeling in his stomach he felt like something was going to go terribly wrong. Should Robin really be the one going after Crawford? Sure Aqualad and the others could always find him at the old animal shelter but...what if Crawford really was here?

He knew Robin wanted to take Crawford down and he knew why...

What if he lost control? He knew how much Robin wanted that man dead....he understood why. But what if he did lose control? Wally looked over at his friend and frowned Robin wouldn't do that....he was a strong kid.

"Found it." Robin stopped walking and in front of them was a small shed with a padlock on the flimsy looking wood door. The shed looked incredibly unstable, the wood's paint was peeling and the door looked like it was all rotted...so it was going to be a simple task to open it.

"Any alarms?" Artemis asked.

Before Robin could move any closer to the door to take a look the door fell off of the hinges. "I'm guessing there are no alarms," Kid Flash said walking over to them. "That's good."

"It is...." Robin mumbled walking into the shed slowly he turned on a flashlight and flicked it on. No trip wires....just old rusted shovels, rakes and buckets and some concrete stairs leading down. If Crawford was so paranoid and had to have armed men guarding the building why would he leave an entrance unguarded?

"Something wrong?" Kid Flash asked standing beside him.

Robin shook his head, "Watch your step the stairs are steep."

After making their way down the stairs they found themselves in a dark damp hallway, the floor was what looked to be white tile but it looked yellow and disgusting. The walls were bricks painted red and there were no lights. "This doesn't make sense..." Robin muttered.

"What?" Artemis froze and looked at him, "What doesn't make sense?"

He didn't understand why there weren't any guards here. Crawford had to be paranoid...or maybe he wasn't here? "The lack of guards down here...." He then slowly made his way down the hall, "Crawford's a paranoid guy....."

"If he's so paranoid why is he leaving so much evidence behind?" Artemis asked.

"Never said he was smart." Robin shrugged. "This hall should lead to the staff room up at the main level." Thank god he looked at the blueprints on the way here, if he hadn't they'd be running around with their heads cut off.

"This the door that leads upstairs?" Kid Flash asked, pointing to an old rusted door.

Going up the stairs was harder than it should have been, the stairs were made from old wood. And how damp it was down there really hadn't helped keep the wood in good condition so it felt like whenever the slightest bit of pressure was applied to the steps...they'd crack. And as soon as they got into the staff room...well it wasn't any better.

"God this staff room smells like shit," Kid Flash whispered.

The room was a complete mess. The floor had patches of what looked like old carpet but it seemed that someone had worked on tearing it out. The walls were littered with holes and mold and cobwebs were in every corner. There were random plastic chairs and a dinky little table with some cards on it and empty beer bottles all over the place.

Artemis scowled and looked around. "Typical bad guy hideout...." What was it with Criminals and being disgusting? Why couldn't they be clean freaks? Could they have ONE clean bad guy? Name him Mr. Clean...? Oh never mind he'd never do well, he'd get copyrighted.

"We can't stay in here long. If we stay here we'll be caught." Robin looked around and smiled when he saw an air duct (Thingy?). He loved it when the air vents were big enough to get into.....how convenient. (Still, have no idea what the proper name for those things are)

"....We're going in the air ducts?" Artemis asked. "Really? Tad bit cliche...."

"It's either that or we risk Crawford and his men finding us," Robin replied quickly and easily getting in. It was caked in dust and cobwebs....dead bugs. Nasty.

Artemis sighed and climbed up and helped Kid Flash up. "He's an old man....what harm can he do?" Artemis grumbled. Didn't he have other people do his dirty work for him?

"Don't underestimate old men, Arty." Kid Flash then nudged her. "Now hurry up." Robin was already way ahead of them.

Artemis scowled but made her way through the air ducts, "So what's the plan?" She asked after a few moments of silence.

Robin paused and managed to turn around and look at her, "Batman told us that we need to make sure Crawford is here-"

"And if he is....we just tell Batman and stand back and let the league do all the work?" Kid Flash asked.

"....That's what he said we should do but." Robin paused, he had promised Bruce that he wouldn't do anything stupid. And he really wanted to keep that promise but....punching Crawford in the face then destroying his entire operation just sounded so appealing. "I really want to punch Crawford in the face."

Artemis looked at Robin surprised, "Didn't expect that from you. Let's do it." Punching an old man sounded fun.

This was a disaster, half of his safehouses and warehouses had been raided by police, and the Batman. So Crawford felt pretty damn screwed at the moment. "Where's the last truck!? The one that got away from the bat?" Crawford snapped, pacing back and forth by a large door. At the moment some of the brats he had and some of his men were scrambling to get the crates from the last warehouse inside the building before the last truck came in.  
"W-We don't know Sir," A goon replied nervously. "We hadn't heard anything yet."

Crawford's eye twitched. "Goddammit, I swear to GOD if the Batman got that truck I'm going to shoot you all!" He screamed, kicking a box over.

The goon bit his lip, "T-The bat really must be determined to get you s-sir."

Crawford sent him a death glare that shut him up immediately. "Thanks, Sherlock I hadn't noticed!" Thank god he hadn't managed to catch the Batman's kid. He couldn't imagine what the man would do to him then. He'd stick to rich defenseless brats with cowardly parents. They couldn't rip him in half....the Batman.

Well, he'd probably throw him off a building or something.

"The Truck is here sir!" Another Goon said, opening the door.

"Go get my stuff then!"

The goon nodded and headed back outside and opened the back of the truck not even taking time to check on the driver. He grabbed a crate and started to walk back to the door and frowned when it was shut and locked. "Uh, hello?" He called out.

"Here let me hold that for you so you can open the door."

The goon smiled and handed the crate off to whoever was behind him, "Thanks!" He fumbled in his pockets for a key, "So how was the drive here?" He asked. "Run into the Batman?" 

"Don't ask me, you should ask the guy in the truck."

The goon raised his eyebrows and turned around and his eyes widened when he saw Kid Flash casually standing behind him, a large smile on his face. "FUCK!" The man screamed, how the hell did one of the superhero brats get here?! How did they find him!? The goon turned to the door, "G-GUYS!" He yelled banging on the door but before he could say much more he was quickly knocked out.

Kid Flash looked down at the passed out goon. He was completely against Robin's idea of splitting up. But he wanted to trust his decision and he wanted to believe that he knew what he was doing. He did deal with Crawford once already...

He turned to the truck. He had already tied up the truck driver and put him in the back of the truck, the whole reason he was the one out here was that he was fast. So Robin said he could stop the truck from being unloaded.

And he did.

So now he was supposed to get the guys on the roof.

He really hoped Artemis and Robin were doing alright in there.

  
They had already taken out everyone who was getting ready to unload the truck. But there was still no sign of Crawford. So they went back to the vents and Artemis and Robin found themselves in the old gym. 

The gym was filled to the brim with grates and armed men, and over by the bleachers were about ten children sitting over there with armed men pointing guns at them. They looked completely terrified, they were huddled together under an old blanket. But what was weird was they didn't have any of the characteristics that Crawford seemed to have been looking for.

There was a redhead, there was a blonde and there was one with dyed hair. Green? And then some brunettes. Right now it looked like they were getting anyone they could get their hands onto....sick fucks.

"They don't look anything like the other victims," Artemis whispered. "Are they just snatching anyone now?" She questioned.

"I don't know." Robin scowled and balanced himself a bit better, it was always nice how gyms had hanging lights and ventilation so he could just perch up here. Get a bird's eye view.

"Shit, there's more of them coming in."

Over by one of the doors, two men walked in and behind them, a large group of terrified children walked. Only two of the large group fit what Crawford had targeted black hair and blue eyes, the others didn't. "Get over there!" One of the men yelled. The children scurried to where he had pointed to and sat down and stayed silent.

"There's no way we can get down there without being shot or one of the kids getting shot," Robin whispered. "There's gotta be ten men with guns down there.....badly outnumbered right now."

"So we call Batman?"

Robin looked around and saw the second level. It was a weight room. "No. We figure something out." He quickly and carefully made his way to the second level, not at all frightened from the shaking of the ventilation. Artemis bit her lip and struggled slightly to keep her balance and she let out a sigh of relief when she landed on the second level. "If we can somehow draw the attention of some of the men and get them to come up here....we could probably take them out." 

"Like pick them off....one by one...?" Artemis nodded slowly. "Sounds like a plan. Uh, you want to start off?"

Robin smirked.

"Shut up you stupid brats!" A goon hissed firing a shot into the air and he grinned when one of the brats started to cry and another hit them so they'd shut up. It was always entertaining to get them to turn on each other. He was pretty sure they'd kill each other if they were given the option.

If you treated them like animals they'd start acting like them eventually.

He yawned and was about to go and torment the children again but froze when he thought he heard something up at the second level. It sounded like a weight falling to the floor. "Did any of you hear that?" He asked turning to the other men in the room.

"No, I think it's just you."

"Na, I heard it too," another goon replied.

Goon 1 scowled. "Let's head up make sure it ain't a brat."

The two men walked up the stairs that led to the weight room. "I'll check on the other side." Goon 2 said walking off.

Goon 1 nodded and walked into the weight room, it was freezing up here. But it looked like it was just him over here, "Probably going nuts..." He muttered heading back to the stairs but his eyes widened when a hand quickly grabbed him and covered his mouth.

  
After about 10 minutes two other men headed up the stairs to look for their 'friends' but were quickly knocked out. "Yo, hello?" Two goons rushed into the weight room but they jumped when the gate shut behind them. And an arrow flew out of nowhere and smoke filled the room.

"This is too easy," Artemis grumbled punching a goon in the face and kicking the gun across the room.

"I'd rather have this be easier." Robin quickly knocked out the other goon and sighed. "There should only be two more men down there now and my guess is they're heading up here or they're down there scared for their lives."

"We could easily take them down." Artemis grinned and started to walk over to the gate.

"These guys really aren't that bright." Robin pulled her back gently. "But we can't just rush down there while they have guns."

Artemis sighed and nodded. "Just ready to finish this. We've been in this building for over five hours now." She then paled, "Wait....we haven't heard from Aqualad and the others....." They were just at a shelter; it wasn't as big.

Robin bit his lip and grappled back up to the ceiling and balanced on one of the lights and Artemis followed him up there. "We can worry about them later, i'm sure they're fine." Right now they had to focus on the matter at hand. The two men down there were getting pretty paranoid and he didn't want them to start shooting the kids.

"What the fuck happened!?" A familiar and very irritating voice screamed.

Robin paled. "Shit." He moved so he could see the lower level of the gym and he saw Crawford walk in dragging a girl in with him. He couldn't make out who it was from where he was but he was guessing it was his new form of entertainment. What a sick fuck.

"Boss......they're all disappearing," A goon cried out scurrying over to Crawford. "It's picking us all off!"

"What is!?" Crawford hissed.

"We don't know!" The other goon replied.

Crawford went silent and grabbed the girls hair and pulled her closer and ignored her cries for him to let go. A smile then crept onto Crawford's face he knew. "COME ON OUT YOU LITTLE BRAT!" He yelled suddenly causing the girl, the goons, and the kids on the bleachers to all jump. "I'M NOT A IDIOT, I KNOW IT'S YOU. YOU'VE BEEN MEDDLING WITH MY OPERATION FOR TO FUCKING LONG!" Crawford quickly snatched a gun from one of the goons and started shooting at the kids and he laughed when he heard screams and the kids tried to escape but most just fell.

The girl he had by the hair shrieked, "You sick fuck!" She yelled. "You sick fuck!"

"He knows we're here," Artemis whispered, her eyes wide.

Robin stayed dead silent.

"IM GOING TO SHOOT EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM IF YOU DO NOT SHOW YOURSELF YOU FUCKING BRAT!" He screamed. "I'LL SHOOT YOUR FRIEND FIRST!" He pulled the girl closer and held a gun to her head. "YOU SAVED HER ONCE, TRY AGAIN BOY!"

Robin bit his lip and looked at Artemis. "He doesn't know you or KF are here. He just knows it's me." And before Artemis could reply he stood up and jumped down and landed on the bleachers and Crawford grinned but kept the gun at Evelynn's head.

"I knew it was you," He said smiling. "I knew you've been meddling with everything." He laughed and put his finger on the trigger and Evelynn clenched her eyes shut. He had never been this happy before, he was winning! "But the jokes on you boy, I was ready for you this time. I may not have been ready when you saved this brat." He moved the gun under her chin, "I may not have been ready when you busted my last building and took my best pets! And I sure the hell wasn't ready for you to break into my house and take my flash drives!" He yelled, getting angrier. "But I was ready for you today!"

Artemis stayed silent and slowly moved over to where she could get inside the vent. She needed to find KF right now, there was nothing she could do here. If she made herself known either Crawford would snap and shoot that girl or he would shoot Robin, the girl, and the other kids who were huddled together.

This was sick. And this went wrong horribly wrong.

"I didn't take any flash drives." He fucked up he really fucked up. He was blinded by the need to just fucking ruin this man and he ended up getting himself cornered. "I didn't even know you were behind this," He replied his fists clenched. One truth, one lie.

"You're such a liar," Crawford growled. "I fucking hate liars."

"And I hate pedophiles."

Crawford's eye twitched, "Grab him." He was going to fucking kill that brat. He didn't even want to lay a finger on him; he just pissed him off so much. He didn't even know why he wanted this brat at first, he was probably more obnoxious than Grayson had been.

God damn that brat never shut up.

Grayson also gave him the fucking slip so he was stuck with just this bratty girl. "We've gotta get out of here right now. Batman's going to be crashing through some window soon enough." So fucking cliche.

The goon grabbed the boy and pressed a gun to his head. "W-Where we going?" The goon asked nervously. "And uh do I knock him out....?" The kid was being incredibly quiet and he didn't trust him for a second.

"Yes, you fucking knock him out you dumbass!" Crawford yelled.

There wasn't a way out of this. The second he tried anything, Evelynn was dead, Robin clenched his eyes shut. How did she even get here?! Did Crawford seriously abduct her again? Was he going around and getting his past victims back? Was he really that desperate?

He really hoped Artemis had gotten some help.

He was dead.

______________________________________________________

Crawford paced back and forth. He had never been this stressed out before...with all this running around and trying to keep the league away and he'd been trying to track down the brats he lost a few months ago.

He didn't want them back honestly. They were all annoying and only good for one thing...even then he still hated them. He'd rather sell their organs or sell their bodies to labs or something. But Devon wanted them back.

He wanted every single one of them back. And he was pretty sure it was nearly impossible since most of them moved out of Gotham and far away to who knows where. Only Myers and Grayson were left in Gotham.

Well, actually he had Myers now. She was easy to get and it was supposed to be easy to get Grayson too. But he seemed to have disappeared. Did he get sent off somewhere....? Ugh, Bruce Wayne did seem like an overprotective parent. He sighed and looked at his watch, ugh that bat brat should be awake now.

He walked down the hall of the old building he was currently in. it wasn't anything nice if anything it was a hell hole, it was an old car part factory. But he furnished it sorta...some of the rooms had some fold up chairs and tables. There were bedrooms...and by that, he meant mattresses on the floor.

His room was the only nice one in here. Obviously.

"Wake up!" Crawford yelled slamming a door open. He didn't bother doing much with the bat brat, he didn't want anything to do with him. He just wanted him dead. He scowled when the kid didn't lift his head off of the old table. He at first wanted to talk to him and torment him a bit but...he didn't look like he was worth it.

He doubted the brat was his type anyways.

Crawford walked closer to him and shook the chair the boy was tied to and let out a frustrated growl when he got no response. So he pulled out a gun and shot the ceiling and the boy's head shot up. "Finally you fucking woke up you cunt."

Crawford looked at the boy and smiled when he got a glare. "How cute." How this kid thought a glare would scare him was hysterical. "Now i'm not going to waste my time on you. You aren't worth it I've got money to make." He made sure his gun was loaded and he put it against the boy's head. "I was hoping to do something wild for you...y'know considering you've destroyed my entire operation by getting those flash drives..."

"I didn't take them," Robin muttered.

Crawford laughed and patted the boy's shoulder. "Keep telling yourself that kid." He put his finger on the trigger and grinned when the boy braced himself for it.

This wasn't how he wanted to die. Where the hell was the league?! Didn't Artemis go and get help? Did she get caught? Was everyone okay? Did the others end up finding anything or was it a trap? Oh god, this wasn't good. He couldn't die.

"1....2...3..." Crawford clenched his teeth and after a second he put the gun down and took a deep breath. "I can't do it....blood makes me dizzy." He stepped back and rubbed his temples. He wanted this brat dead but he didn't want him to go to waste. There was so much this kid could be used for...

Sex? His organs? His knowledge of the league and his identity....?

Crawford stared at the boy who just stared at the ground now. "You're worth too much alive...." He walked back over to him and grabbed his chin so he could look at his face. "You've got tons of information on the league."

"The league doesn't tell me anything," He replied, yanking his head away from Crawford.

Crawford grabbed his head again and dug his nails into his skin. "Fucking bitch." He didn't know what he could do with him! Crawford bit his lip and just stared at the boy's masked face. What to do....

He sighed and reached for his mask but Robin yanked his head away and headbutted Crawford as hard as he could. Crawford stumbled back and growled when he noticed he had a nosebleed. "You little bitch!" He grabbed his neck with one hand and went for the mask again and laughed victoriously when he got it off.

FUCK.

Dick clenched his eyes shut. He was so fucking dead, Crawford was going to tear him apart. Kill him for sure now and Bruce was most definitely going to be mad at HIM. This was his fault he had put himself in this situation.

"Open them!" Crawford demanded.

"Fuck you!" He hissed trying to get his head out of his grip and he tried to get his arms free so he could keep him away.

Crawford grabbed his head and his nails dug into his skin and he used his free hand to pry open one of his eyelids. And once he saw his eyes he scowled. Wait. ".....wait." Crawford stood up and stepped back. The more he looked at his face the quicker it clicked.

His face.

His hair color....his eyes.

Crawford clenched his fists. "YOU....YOU CUNT!" He grabbed the gun and roughly hit the boy in the head. "I can't believe it," He growled.

Dick clenched his eyes shut and held back a pained cry when he was hit in the head with a gun. Crawford knew who he was. He was done for. He was absolutely done for. "You've ruined everything! You've ruined it!" He stepped back and clutched his head. "I can't believe you've ruined me out of all people." Crawford never believed in karma. But he was starting to now....the brat he raped ended up ruining him in the long run. "No...NO!" He yelled, shaking his head. "You're not getting the last laugh. I'm not going to let you get the last laugh." He turned and looked at Dick. "You're going to fucking worship me when all of this is through!" He growled.

Dick glared. "I'm never going to submit to you, Crawford."

He laughed. "Well, Pretty Boy." He smiled, "You don't have a choice."


	10. Chapter 10

"If you're Robin...Is Batman Bruce Wayne?" Crawford asked pacing back and forth. He was over being incredibly angry now he was just really shocked. Richard Grayson was Robin......

Is Bruce Wayne Batman?

Dick scowled and just stared straight ahead. He didn't know how long he'd been in this small way too brightly lit room. He couldn't feel his hands anymore either so that really sucked and his entire life was probably over and his friends are nowhere to be found. So he was feeling incredibly abandoned now.

"Well, is he!?" Crawford asked, stopping in front of him. "Answer me!"

Dick took a deep breath. "Don't waste your time I'm not saying anything." He really wasn't, he'd been trained to keep his mouth shut about this stuff and NOTHING would get him to say something. He wouldn't budge.

"Do you know what I'll do to you if you don't fucking give me the answer I want!?" Crawford growled his eye twitching. Okay, this brat was way more infuriating than before. "I'll-"

"You'll tear me apart......" He muttered. "Yeah, I know!" He was going to be raped. He called that from the moment he woke up in this room. He was doomed.

But he still wasn't saying anything.

Crawford kicked the wall and let out a frustrated and incredibly unnecessary scream. Dick was having a hard time understanding why he'd been so scared of this man before, the more he really thought about it this guy was just a sad and unfortunate manchild. He was a complete and utter fool as well.

"I'll kill you if you keep this up!" He yelled getting back into the boy's personal space.

"What's stopping you?" Dick asked, scowling. "I'm not telling you anything. You're just wasting your time old man," He replied shrugging. He was playing with fire and he should probably stop like...right now. But Crawford was just so amusing when his face twisted up in anger. His brows would furrow and his forehead would get all wrinkly...he was like a big fat Shar Pei. A really ugly one.

Crawford grabbed his throat with both hands and squeezed it. "Maybe I will!" After he got no real reaction from Dick he growled and let go. He wanted reactions and he wasn't getting any. When he first started to torment this kid two months ago he got a REALLY annoying reaction. At first, it was nice to hear the brat begging for him to stop and all. But that was a good reaction one he got most of the time.

The only really REALLY annoying part was getting kicked multiple times in the face and getting headbutted. That left some marks and he was certain the brat had almost broken his nose. Crawford took a deep breath and just stared at Dick. He didn't know what to do with this kid....he wasn't interested in him anymore.

He just wasn't good enough.

He really only liked taking brats' innocence then selling them off. He didn't like using them more than three times and he'd already done that with Grayson. Ugh...might as well just kill the kid. "Fine, I'm done with you." Crawford grabbed his gun and quickly made sure it was loaded. One was left and that would easily end this brat. He sighed and looked at him, "Any last words?" Crawford asked.

Dick just stared at him right in the eyes. This was a complete and utter disaster and he honestly was trying his damn well best to not just freak out now. He didn't really want to die, he still had a lot he wanted to do with his life.

Crawford paused. "You know what......?" He smiled. "Maybe I will waste my time on you," He said shrugging. Killing him right now would be a huge mistake. "I've always wanted to just......go all out with a brat."

Dick paled, okay maybe being shot in the head wasn't such a bad thing. He wouldn't have to deal with whatever Crawford was implying....because at this point anything could be possible.

And that wasn't a good thing.

Crawford grinned. "Maybe then you'll decide to talk with me about the league...." He placed his hand on his shoulder and sighed. "You're not that bad after all....." He smiled. "You're just noisy, nothing a gag won't fix,” He said shrugging. 

Dick really wished he had gotten shot. "You're sick," He muttered. He really wished he could get away from this man, trying to stay calm was getting impossible. 

"And you're a bitch!" Crawford scowled. "Now keep your mouth shut unless you have something to say about the league."

God dammit.

__________________________

He was impressed...very impressed. "Damn he can hold his breath for a while," He said looking at his watch. "6 minutes..." Maybe that was enough? The brat had to be getting sick of this!  
A goon sighed and pulled Dick's head up out of a large tub of freezing water. "Are you going to tell us now?" The goon hissed tightening his grip on his neck and hair.

"Speak you fucking brat!" Crawford hissed. "Or we'll end up drowning you!"

He felt like his lungs were on fire right now and his entire head felt numb. He continued to just try and get as much air as he could before they ended up shoving his head back into the water. The goon scowled and quickly shoved his head back in and he struggled a bit to keep a grip on him. "This is a waste," The Goon said, frowning. "He ain't going to say anything." They were probably going to end up killing him.

"No, we aren't giving up," Crawford said quickly. "He'll talk. I can't imagine he enjoys this." He was currently trying to squirm out of the Goons grip. So it was obvious he wasn't enjoying this. 

The Goon sighed and pulled him out of the water, "Gonna cooperate?" Crawford asked walking over to them, a large smile on his face. Dick clenched his eyes shut and just as he was about to take a breath his head was roughly shoved back in.

The Goon rolled his eyes and shoved his head back into the water. He really wasn't amused since he didn't actually really care about Batman or the sidekick brat or who they really were....he just was helping out because he was going to be given a raise so he'd stay quiet. "Why don't you just tell everyone?" He asked.

Crawford sighed and kept his eyes on his watch, "Because that wouldn't be fun enough. I can't just do it the easy way....."

"We are wasting our time."

"No, we aren't!" Crawford yelled. "He's ruined my operation and because of him, the league is hot on our trail! We lost almost every building because of them!" They even lost the school building. "Because of him, we're stuck in this shitty old factory!"

The goon just scoffed and pulled him out of the water. "Are you going to talk now?" He asked.

How long had this been going on? It honestly felt like hours, Dick clenched his eyes shut. Air sweet sweet air. "Well, Pretty Boy...what is it going to be? You either tell me what I want or we can really test your limits." He was getting bored with this.

"....W-What...do you want to know?" It hurt to talk. All he really wanted to do was just breathe.

Crawford smiled, "Is Bruce Wayne really Batman?"

Dick was silent for a moment. "Why don't you ask him yourself?" He asked. "He'll be here soon, I'm sure he wouldn't mind you asking...after he rips off your limbs and all."

Crawford's eye twitched and right when the goon was about to shove Dick's head back into the water he scowled. "Stop. Clearly, this isn't working....." He growled. "We need to try something else."

There were so many things you could do to someone. So many things.....

"What do you have in mind?" The goon asked he then shoved the brat back into the water because quite frankly he enjoyed how much he'd struggle. It was fun and it made him feel powerful, "Beat the shit out of him? Get him to say something then?"

Crawford paced back and forth, "No that's too simple."

"Threaten his friends?" The goon pulled Dick's head out of the water and shoved him aside. He wasn't concerned about him trying to get away, right now he just seemed to be trying to catch his breath and his hands were tied up so.

"I don't know the identities of the other brats and the only friend I know he has is Barbara Gordon...." He scowled. "And I doubt she'd be easy to get." She was Jim Gordon's daughter. And he didn't want to risk getting caught...he was currently trying to lay low.

"I've got an idea."

Crawford turned to the doorway and Luna stood there, her arms crossed. "I've got plenty of ideas." She walked into the room and scowled, she wished they'd asked her sooner...she felt like she had barely been involved in this. And she really didn't like to just sit around and do nothing.

"'Oh really now?" The Goon snickered, "What is it, have a catfight?"

Luna sent him a murderous glare. "Shut it or you're next!"

"What is it?" Crawford asked.

"Cut it off," She smiled.

Crawford raised his eyebrows, "I'm not following you, Luna. Cut what off?"

She smirked. "You know exactly what I mean." Sadistic but she hated Dick Grayson and she hated Robin so she couldn't care less about what happens to him or if he's severely hurt. "Cut it off!"

Dick forced himself to sit up and his eyes widened. "W-What!?" He cried out. Okay, could they just continue shoving his head into freezing water? He'd rather go through that.

The goon cringed. "That would kill him," Crawford frowned. "I need him alive and somewhat in one piece. He's worth a lot of money..." He planned on selling this brat as soon as he gets what he wants from him. Or kill him.....because he wasn't very good.

Luna rolled her eyes, "He's ruined your entire operation, your boss is going to kill you and I'm pretty sure you wanted to kill him anyways. You said he wasn't even that good!" She really just wanted the brat to die.....

Why did she even hate him again?

Dick really wanted to just drown himself right now. They couldn't be serious, SHE couldn't be serious. "Come on, Dad! Kill him, but make him suffer first! Please? I'll never ask for anything ever again!" She looked up at Crawford and smiled. "And if you don't wanna do it I will. I'm not afraid of blood or guts or severely wounding people! Just leave him with me for a little and I'll get him to talk."

Dick paled, "You're fucking insane!" He hissed scooting away from everyone. He wanted to be far away from these people! God dammit where was Artemis?! Kid Flash!? Did they just run for the hills and forget about him!? And if they do end up somehow finding him he was going to fucking punch Wally in the face. Took him three days to find him the first time...lord only knows how long it'll be now.

God dammit he was sick of having to be saved.

Crawford went silent. "Luna....no."

She scowled. "But please!? Please please please......!?" She begged. "I've done so much for you and you know it! I even got my nose broke because of all of this. You OWE me!" She was really desperate. She wanted to hurt him.

Crawford rubbed his temples and walked over to where Dick was. Part of him felt slightly bad for the kid but not really. He grabbed him by his hair and scowled. "Stop making this hard for yourself you cunt." He dragged him over to the doorway.

Dick squirmed out of his grip and tried to get away from him but it was pretty impossible considering his feet were tied together. Luna snickered and grabbed his hair and dragged him out of the room and down the hall. "God damn you're heavy."

"And you're fucking sick in the head!" He hissed. His head really hurt and he was pretty sure he was losing a lot of hair today. Actually, he was going to lose a lot, his will to live, possibly something he didn't want gone, blood and his life.

She sighed. "Don't worry, I'm a lot better at this than Daniel is. He's way too old-fashioned." She had so many ideas. She grinned and opened a door and shoved him in. "I like to think I'm creative when it comes to this kind stuff....but I can't be too sure since this'll be my first time doing this. So just tell me I am creative so I feel better about myself."

Dick looked up at her and raised his eyebrows. This girl was fucking mental and he wasn't actually that surprised that she was related to Crawford....but they looked nothing like each other. She scowled, "Am I creative?!" She hissed getting closer to him, "Well am I?" After she got no reply she crossed her arms. "Okay fine I get it, not creative."

He stopped listening to her about five minutes ago he was way more focused on figuring out how to get out of this room. It was small, cold and it smelt like mold. Everything was concrete and there was nothing in here and no way out other than the door.

The only good thing was he still had clothes. He REALLY didn't want to be exposed near this psycho because he didn't doubt it for a second that she really would do what she said she would. She sighed, "Well I've got to go get some stuff so I'll just leave you in here for however long I want. I think starving you would be a good start."

"I'd rather starve than be near you," He muttered.

"Well it seems you've gotten lucky!" She quickly left the room and slammed the door shut and locked it.

Well, this was just fucking great!

________________________

He wouldn't say he was scared.

He didn't get scared.....he was slightly nervous. He really didn't expect him to show up here and he hadn't seen him in person for a few months. Crawford took a deep breath and stood in front of his office door, he wasn't ready for this. He had just waltzed inside and started to take everything over.

God....he was as good as dead. His boss was going to skin him alive....feed him to the dogs! He sighed and decided to just open the door and go in, he wanted to get this over with. If he was shot in the head, oh well he was shot at least he wouldn't have to deal with the aftermath of this mess of a trafficking ring.

"About damn time."

Crawford bit his lip and shut the door behind him. His poor office didn't seem to be his anymore, all his stuff was thrown to the corner... "I-"

"Be quiet Daniel."

Crawford looked to the floor. He was happy that he was facing the window because if he had to look at his boss and make eye contact he'd probably piss himself and faint. Crawford wouldn't call himself weak...but he wouldn't live through a fight with this guy.

The man sighed and just stood with his back to Crawford. "You lost the last good building I had," He hissed.

Crawford shuddered, his voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard. ".....Yes, b-"

"Don't give me fucking excuses!" He yelled, turning around. "You lost millions of dollars, drugs, weapons, kids! YOU lost ALL of it!" The man was seething, his pale fists were clenched and his cold hazel eyes burning holes into Crawford. "YOU are a fucking pathetic excuse for a man!"

"Running from the league is NOT as easy as it looks, Devon!" Crawford yelled. "It is HELL!" This man knew nothing about the struggle he was going through right now, he wasn't getting sleep, he couldn't settle down in one spot for more than an hour, and he was paranoid!

"If you didn't rape the kids and RECORD it and then put them on flash drives and shove them into a drawer NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED!" Devon took a deep breath and ran his hands through his messy blonde hair. "I should just shoot you now."

"You shoot me they shoot her."

Devon scoffed. "Still fucking salty about your brat?" He sat down and laughed. "Upset that I shot him right in the face?"

"Upset!? Well, that's the understatement of the century, Devon!" Crawford growled stomping over to the office desk. "You killed him. You killed the only person I had left! He was everything to me!"

"Maybe you should have taken my warnings seriously." Devon scowled. "And when you really look at it... I saved him. I saved him from you, I know what you did to him," Devon leaned back in the chair.

Crawford kicked the desk, "SHUT IT!"

Devon just stared at him, "Stop being petty." He was done with this topic, "We have more important matters to discuss."

"I'm done doing business with you, Devon. I'm backing out of this."

"You can't, you have debts you need to pay back and you have her. I want her back," Devon replied.

"You're not getting her back-"

"I will get her back and you will pay me back, you'll also give me Myers and Grayson." He wanted his money back, he'd worked his ass off for everything and this sorry excuse for a man had ruined it all. "And the Batman's brat."

Crawford flinched, shit. He didn't think Devon knew about that...."You were going to tell me right, Daniel?" Devon smiled and stared at him. "You didn't think you could just hide that from me! You caught Batman's Brat. That kid is worth millions! And we can make even more when we sell Myers and Grayson!" He laughed when Crawford just stared at him wide-eyed. "You didn't plan on keeping him did you!?"

"A-" Crawford started to say but he was interrupted by Devon.

"Oh wait!" He laughed louder, "Do you want to be the first to violate him too? Fuckin' greedy perv." Devon didn't understand why Crawford liked hurting the kids that way...it was gross. Sure he wasn't much better either but he wouldn't touch a kid. Not when he had a kid of his own. "Or maybe you do that because your son is dead, can't touch him anymore."

Crawford's eye twitched, "You do NOT bring my son into this!" He growled.

"Daniel...Daniel...." He shook his head. "Don't raise your voice with me."

Crawford clenched his fists. "You can't have Grayson and the Bat brat. You can't have both of them," He grumbled. How was he supposed to say this? He knew they were the same person...but he didn't actually want to expose him. He'd rather have that info to himself....it gave him power and he really liked power.

Devon raised his eyebrows, "Yes I can."

"You can't Devon! It's impossible!" Daniel exclaimed, "Grayson is the bat brat!" Goodbye power. "You'll have to rip him into two!" And he already did, surprised the kid recovered-

Now it was Devon's turn to go silent. And that really scared Crawford, in his eyes this man was completely insane! One minute mad another minute he's mocking people and then he's mad again, he jokes....."Don't lie to me." Devon looked up at Crawford. "There's no way Richard Grayson is Robin, he's a fucking weak tiny 14-year-old! What's next? Batman is Bruce Wayne?! I see that disgusting rich prick every day at work! He's my boss!" He went to Wayne's parties and he's met his stupid not-son a few times he's tiny!

"I'm NOT lying, Devon!" Crawford sighed and rubbed his temples. "I didn't believe it either, but he ruined the entire operation. I think we made a big mistake targeting Grayson....if you didn't give me orders to abduct Grayson then the league wouldn't have hunted us down as quick!" He didn't understand how the league found him so quickly but now that he knew Grayson was Robin it explained everything! "We need to get info from the brat then kill him and dump his body somewhere. The longer we keep him with us....ugh. It's just a matter of time until the league gets to us...."

Then the Batman was going to KILL them.

________________________________________________

He was freezing,

His head hurt,

He was hungry,

Tired,

And he really wanted to go home,

Where was the league!? Did Artemis seriously just run and forget about him? Or did she get killed trying to get help? What about Wally? Did he just leave...run for the hills? Dick took a deep breath and curled up in the corner, his teeth chattering. The longer he sat here in this room alone...the angrier he got.

He was mad at himself; he couldn't believe he fucked up this bad. Why did he do this?! He should have just let Bruce take care of this and then everything would be all good. Crawford would be rotting and the trafficking ring would be gone.

He took a deep breath. Okay, relax...

No how could he just relax?! He was fucking screwed! He was as good as dead! He needed to get out of here and he needed to get out of here NOW. Before that insane short girl came back because he knew she wasn't bluffing...

She was fucking messed up in the head.

"I'm baaaaaaaaack!" Luna yelled, kicking the door open. She grinned and turned on the lights and walked up to the corner. "You know...i don't know how villains can get their asses kicked by you. You're weak." She knelt down and smiled at him.

"I'm not weak," He headbutted her as hard as he could and Luna yelped and fell to her butt and she seemed a bit dazed. Dick really wished he didn't do that because he forgot he couldn't get very far considering his ankles were handcuffed together and so were his wrists.

"You bitch!" She hissed but before she could get close to him again he kicked her in the chest and she fell back again. God dammit how was he so fast!

"Stay away from me!" He growled.

Luna slowly stood up and she jumped back when he kicked at her again. "Jesus, you're a little asshole!" She scowled and walked towards the door, "I'm going to ruin you....later." She needed Tylenol, she had a killer headache now because of this asshole. She flipped him off and slammed the door shut behind her.

Dick just sighed and he was about to continue to drown in self-hatred but he furrowed his brows when he saw something on the floor. It was a bobby pin that probably fell out of the girls hair when she fell.

He smirked and scooted over to it and grabbed it with his hands, thank god he knew how to use these things.

He was really happy he decided to kick that bitch.

________________________________

"Man, she screamed so loud it ruined the whole damn thing."

Luna nodded and stared down at the floor. She was trying to get rid of her headache that stupid asshole gave her but now some random goon walked up to her and was complaining about some brat he was dealing with. She scowled and rolled her eyes, "Cool." She wasn't really listening to him...she really didn't care about his stupid story. She had better things to worry about....like how to get rid of this headache. It was getting really bad, it felt like two hands were squeezing her head in and she was starting to feel light headed and all foggy.

"You ain't even listening!" The goon hissed.

Luna scowled and rolled her eyes, "Really?" How was he just now noticing that? She sighed and stood up straight, "Bye... I've got shit to do. Hope whatever you had going on with a 16 year old works out sicko," She muttered walking away.

She figured she might as well start what she had planned with Grayson. Her foul mood might make things a bit more interesting.

__________________

He absolutely hated Devon Marche.

"Fucking bastard!" Crawford yelled slamming his office door shut. "Fucking bastard!" He clenched his fists and stormed to his desk and sat down and slammed his fists on the wooden surface. "I'll gut him! Dismember him! Burn him alive!"

That man was causing more problems. He claimed he was trying to fix this operation, keep it running smoothly. And when shit went South he had to blame everyone but himself for failure!

Crawford knew he had a small role in the failure of this operation but just because he hurt those kids...it didn't mean he ruined their value! Hell he was teaching them how to behave! The clients should pay more not less.

He shouldn't have to pay Devon back. He shouldn't have had to give him anything! He was the one who saved that man's ass! He gave him money to fund this operation! Devon had the idea and he got the money.

He should be the boss. Not Devon.

And Devon HAD to pay for the pain he's caused.  
Crawford took a deep breath and stared at the picture frame on his desk and he felt his eyes water. He shoved it away and into the floor.

That man took everything from him.

His money.

Reputation.

His son.

His son was dead. Murdered! Shot in the face! Cold blooded murder....

That boy had meant the world to him. He loved him with all his heart and he was just....just perfect.

Crawford groaned and clutched his head. No no no. He couldn't think about him anymore! He felt as if his heart was being ripped apart. Oh God! His son...dead! 

He wanted Devon to pay for what he did! He didn't want money anymore and he didn't want to play fair. And he was done dealing with his brat! He was done trying to threaten him because clearly he didn't care If his own kid was killed.

He didn't even Really seem to care that they had the Bat brat. Devon didn't completely believe it and he didn't want to see for himself. He was only interested in getting money out of him. Or well money out of Grayson, he seemed to really dislike the kid.

Which for once he could kind of understand and agree with. Grayson was loud and obnoxious and he was-

"Gone!"

Crawford jumped and looked up at the door. Luna was standing there, her eyes wide, "Grayson's gone!" She yelled rushing over to him. "He fucking disappeared out of thin air!"

Crawford's eye twitched. "You're telling me....you lost Grayson...?" He asked slowly. He clenched his fists and he saw red. "You lost the one brat that could fucking get us all arrested!" He yelled slamming his fist on the table.

Luna flinched and stepped back. "I don't know." She whispered, "He'd headbutted me and I went to get something for my head pain...and when I got back he was gone."

Crawford screamed in frustration and threw his lamp at her nearly hitting her head. "I'll give you some Fucking head pain if you don't find him!"

She bit her lip. "Y-Yes sir." 

____________________

He was pretty sure it would be impossible to get out of this building without being spotted.

He really wished he hadn't gotten out of that room.

God dammit this was a bad idea.

Fuck.

Dammit.

Dammit. 

Dick held his breath as he bolted down a hallway and pressed himself up against the wall when he noticed someone in the room next to him. This building was pretty much empty hallways with lots of doors and nowhere to hide. And there were goons everywhere...

This was a bad idea.

He wasn't going to make it far and how he hadn't been spotted yet was hilarious in a sad sort of way...and he didn't have a mask so was basically fucked.

He waited until the person walked away from the doorway and he quickly went past it and turned down another hallway that looked identical to the one he just left. What was this place? The layout of this building was incredibly confusing. It was like a giant maze and he felt like he was going in circles.

He took a deep breath and looked around for any goons. This hall was empty so he relaxed slightly. Too bad there wasn't a room he could hide in and maybe take a moment to gather his thoughts and try and make a plan. He knew he needed to find a window or something....because that could be an easy exit. Or maybe even get into the ventilation system.

But he couldn't find either of those so he was stuck trying to navigate his way around this place out in the open.

This was a complete nightmare.

Why the hell did he always get in the worst situations?! It was like the entire world was out to watch him suffer.

What the hell did he do to deserve this??

"Find him. It's only a matter of time before he gets out of here."

Dick felt his blood run cold. Fuck! Someone was heading down this hall. He looked around frantically and he couldn't find anything or anywhere to hide. He looked up at the ceiling.....

Okay well he could try and see if he could pull off being a spider or something. 

He wanted a drink.

He wanted to drink an awful lot and just bash someone's skull in and watch them die or something. The one brat he didn't want to escape had somehow escaped and that wasn't good. If it was just one of the other brats he wouldn't be as worried...how far could they get in this place? It was escape proof!

Richard Grayson however would find a way to escape. He was fucking raised by The Batman for fucks sake....that kid was a genius and sometimes he wondered if that kid was human. Crawford took a deep breath and walked down one of the many halls in this place. "If we don't find him soon I'm just going to set this building on fire," He hissed.

The goon who was walking with him gulped. "T-There's no way he'll get far, Boss. There's nowhere to hide and the windows and exits by the front are all being guarded," He sputtered. "No need to burn and destroy another building."

Crawford's eye twitched and he shoved the guy aside and continued to walk towards the front of the building. "He's probably gotten all the guards by now," He muttered, walking out of sight. The goon sighed and trailed after him like a pathetic dog. 

A minute later there was a small thud at the opposite end of the hall. Dick groaned and rubbed his palm, he managed to get up in the corner by the ceiling and it was by pure luck Crawford hadn't looked up when he walked into the hall.

That was a close one.

And it really hurt to say up there for that long. He was already exhausted, hungry and sore. How long had he been here? A day? A few days!? Where the flying fuck was the league? Did they seriously just forget about him? He honestly doubted that...Crawford was a hard guy to find and this building had to be far from Gotham or Blüdhaven.

He had a feeling by the time the League did end up finding him he'd be dead. Either from starvation, dehydration or because his escape attempt failed and he was stuck with Crawford or that insane chick.

Okay no negative thinking. He wasn't dying, he wasn't ready to give up yet....all he had to do was get to the front of the building and get to the windows or something. Honestly at this point he just wanted to run there at full speed and just get past all the goons and not give them enough time to react.

But there was absolutely no way he could run.

Hell he was having a hard time standing without his legs shaking.

But he was going to suck it up and move as fast as he could. He WAS getting out.

Dick clenched his teeth and started to walk in the direction Crawford went. He was going to get out...he could do this. 

This was a nice view, the dead grass and frost on the dying trees was such a lovely sight. Oh and the mass amount of litter out there was so much fun to watch...Jim the goon smiled and sighed. Window guarding was so nice...nicer than watching some of the brats that they had here. They stunk and cried and begged to go home. It was obnoxious. Jim the goon was about to go and start thinking about how maybe he could ask if he could go on break soon because man he had to take a leak. But his thoughts were interrupted when he thought he heard something move behind him. He turned around and narrowed his ugly goon eye.

He shuddered, feeling freaked out. Thank God the window he was guarding was in a closed off room and he could just shut the door so he could feel safe. Jim the goon walked to the door and poked his head out in the hallway. "Hello-" He started to say but was cut off when he got kicked in the face and he stumbled back. Before he could really process anything he fell to the ground and everything went black.

Goons kept getting dumber and dumber.

But he was not going to complain...

Dick rushed into the room and shut the door behind him but the fact that he couldn't lock it made him nervous so he'd have to get out of here as fast as he could. Dick looked around the room, okay it was literally just a window and nothing else...nothing he could block the door with. Dammit.  
He took a deep breath and walked over to the window and scowled, it was padlocked shut. "Dammit," He muttered under his breath. He still had that nutty girl's hair pin so he could try and pick the lock...but he didn't know if he'd be fast enough. He pulled the hair pin out of his hair and started his attempt.

This was almost as stressful as defusing a bomb.

Okay no...maybe this was as stressful as defusing a bomb. His life depended on this window opening.

And it wouldn't fucking unlock. It was rusted...and that was making this pretty much impossible. 

He was trying not to scream in frustration and just curl up and a ball and die.

Fuck.

This was taking longer than it should. Has it been five minutes? Dick stepped away from the window and looked at the hair pin and scowled. He bent it pretty badly...it didn't look like it would open anything. 

He looked back at the lock. Maybe he could break it...? It was old and rusty anyways so it was only a matter of time before it fell apart. Dick was about to go and try again with that damn lock but he froze when he heard the door open.

"You're quite clever for a brat."

Oh god no.

Dick heard the click of a gun and he clenched his eyes shut. "It’s not hard to be smarter than you." The man was dumber than a bag of rocks.

Crawford laughed, "Boy. You must love getting yourself in more trouble." He walked over to Dick and stood next to him and looked out the window. "You're making your own problems now."

Dick rolled his eyes. He had so many things he wanted to say to Crawford. "Just shoot me now."

"Tempting. Dealing with you is a nightmare." Crawford stared at the gun and scoffed. "But you don't deserve something quick like that." He grinned and grabbed Dicks arm and yanked him closer. "I'm going to tear you apart you bitch," He growled. "You've caused me so much stress and you've made me lose millions."

"Get a real job and get the money back," Dick muttered, pulling himself away from his grip. "And keep your gross hands off of me." Being tortured by that insane girl seemed a lot better than being with....him. 

"Don't tell me what to fucking do you brat!" Crawford yelled. "You belong to ME. And you need to learn how to fucking listen and shut up!" He stormed over to him and before the boy could react he grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the door. He had to give Grayson props, he was definitely stubborn and he was very good at being a repulsive kid. After he was done with him he'd leave him to bleed out.

But that wouldn't be for a while unfortunately. Grayson was going to fix the damage he caused and he was going to make every dollar lost back. 

He couldn't believe he was losing to an old man. Dick clenched his teeth and struggled to get out of Crawford's iron grip but it honestly felt impossible. He was exhausted and starving....when was the last time he ate something?! How long has he been stuck here? Where was the league?

Where were they?

Artemis was there and so was Kid Flash, they could have done something! Right!? Did they even get out alive? Did Crawford get to them? Was he just not saying anything? No he'd definitely brag about catching them....right?!

Okay he was panicking.

No use in trying to calm himself down. He was doomed. He was going to die.

His friends were probably dead and the league was never going to find him.

He was stuck here.

He was dead.

Oh god.

This wasn't how he wanted to die.

This was a terrible way to die. A terribly humiliating way to die...or maybe. He didn't know what Crawford was going to do...okay he had an idea but he really didn't want to think about it because that man is the devil in an old gross mans body and he probably had some disease he was going to spread to him and then he'd die gross and disgusting and he really would be a disgusting bitch and-

"Stop struggling, you're making this harder for yourself," Crawford sneered. "Just wasting energy," He said sighing. He normally loved the reactions he got from these brats. How they'd panic when they realized what was going to happen.

It was exciting.

Crawford kicked open a door and shoved Dick into the room and slammed the door shut. "Now, I don't want to be the bad guy," Crawford said smiling. "I really don't. But you need to understand that your actions have consequences Pretty Boy....escaping? Do you know how much danger you put us all in....?" He shook his head and started walking towards him, cornering him. "I'm sorry. I really am."

He really wasn't. 

____________________________

Luna sighed and opened Crawford's office door. Or well a makeshift office....this was probably the ugliest makeshift office she'd ever seen, she scowled and walked towards the cluttered desk and sat down. She'd been tasked with finding where he kept all those shock collars. Or well ones he had left over...a lot of them were lost when the other warehouses were raided by the cops. She wished the cops got all of them to be honest. Those things hurt like hell....they left marks too...and they could be really tight. They definitely worked...which was why he needed one as soon as possible. She didn't know the exact reason why...most of the brats here didn't fight back.

Oh wait...he must have caught Grayson.  
He would fight back. She remembered hearing a lot of complaints about how he bit and kicked. And he was really good at head-butting hard....hard enough to leave bruises. Luna scowled and rubbed her forehead and quickly started to rummage through the drawers. "Trash....trash," She grumbled, shoving some crumpled up papers onto the floor. "Trash....trash-" She paused when she found a shattered picture frame. "That's a hazard." She sat up straight and flipped it over and raised her eyebrow. It seemed to be a family picture?

It was quite eerie.

She could easily tell that Father was in it, he had a large smile plastered on his face and he was wearing an expensive suit....and he had a full head of hair? Wowie this must be an oldie. "Oh jeez," This definitely was old considering there was an unfamiliar woman in this picture and another kid. The lady was very petite, she had long wavy black hair and she was wearing an expensive dress and jewelry. But she looked so young....must be a gold digger.

Oh and there was a kid too.

He looked like Grayson, Luna bit her lip and she started to feel sick.

No...that wasn't Grayson. This kid was a lot bigger than him...and he seemed so familiar. Luna quickly shoved the picture back into the drawer and shut it. She didn't want to look at it anymore...she felt sick.  
She stood up and walked over to a different drawer. She wanted this errand done now. 

__________________________________

He didn't want to have to drug him but the kid made it nearly impossible to do anything. He was stronger then he looked and he kicked and screamed and he didn't want to lose any teeth or break his nose tonight. But he also wanted this kid to suffer.

He wanted it to hurt and he wanted him to bleed and he wanted him to scream and struggle and beg for him to stop. He wasn't doing this because he was a bad man though...no Crawford knew he was a good man. Grayson might not understand that yet but he needed to be taught how to have manners and he needed to know his place.

He needed to learn that escaping wasn't allowed and that breaking the rules had consequences! He needed to learn and this seemed to be the only way. Sure it may take a few days or even weeks but he'd learn sooner or later.

This was tough love.

"Stop struggling, Pretty Boy." Crawford tightened his grip on his wrists. "I'll happily break your arms. "

"STOP!"

Crawford grinned. He was going to learn, he was getting it now. "What you did was wrong-" Crawford started to say but he had to pull away when the brat managed to nearly ram his head into him. "Cut it out," Crawford growled. He put all his weight onto him and he was sure he was nearly crushing the kid. But whatever....he had to learn. "You're a disgusting brat!" He grinned and wrapped his hands around his tiny neck and he started to laugh when he felt Grayson's hands desperately try and pry his hands off. "The more you struggle the more it'll hurt. You need to rela-" Crawford started to say but he was interrupted when he was kicked and he was shoved off.

Dick took this as his chance to get away and he scrambled away from Crawford.

"YOU FUCKING CUNT!" Before he could get too far Crawford grabbed him by his hair and shoved him down. "I don't want to have to hurt you more, Pretty Boy." Okay so maybe he did. But he didn't want to hurt him tooooo much. He still needed Grayson to make him the money back.

"Y-You're sick!" Dick hissed.

Crawford's eye twitched and he grabbed his wrists and forced him back down. "Shut. It!" He growled, "Or so help me God I will fucking stab you and kill you right here and mail your body to Bruce." Crawford paused. Well actually....he did want this brat to bleed. Sure he was bleeding but not enough to really send a message. He let go of the boy and he stood up and fixed his pants. Where would be a non fatal spot to stab him?

He wanted him to bleed but not die yet.

Crawford stared at him and grabbed his arm when he tried to get away. "Quit it." He was trying to think. He was enjoying what he was seeing but he still didn't know where to sta-

The brand mark.

It was all clawed up...and a stab to the hip wouldn't be that bad or too deep. "HEY, SOMEONE GET ME SOMETHING SHARP!" He yelled loudly. He grinned when he heard a muffled reply from the hall and the sound of someone running down the hall. He then looked at Grayson.

Dick's eyes widened. "....P-Please don't," He whimpered. God he felt like such a coward right now. But he didn't want to be stabbed...he didn't want any of this.

Crawford's grin grew when the door opened and a goon walked over to Crawford, handed him a knife and then rushed out. Crawford laughed, "This is what happens to disobedient brats." He forced Dick down and he used his knee to pin him down.

Crawford ignored the pleas for him to stop.

He was way too busy trying to decide how he should do this. He'd never stabbed someone before...I mean he did but not in that kind of way. Crawford chuckled, his own little jokes were so funny. To him at least. "How should I do it, Pretty Boy?" He asked. "Just quick and deep in the hip or should I do it somewhere more fleshy...and just leave it in there for a bit. Add a bit of excitement to our time together..."

What would hurt more? Crawford looked at his stomach...no if he stabbed there he could kill Pretty Boy and he didn't want to do that yet. "Hip it is!" He smiled.

He raised the knife and within seconds Dick was screaming. Crawford's eyes widened and he moved away and laughed, "Whoops seems I missed the brand mark by a little." He got the bitch right above his hip. He wiped his bloody hands on the mattress. "Don't cry Pretty Boy! I could use the blood to make it a little easier for you." 

This was gonna be a good night.


	11. Chapter 11

She hated Gotham city.

She'd love it if a catastrophic natural disaster occurred and destroyed this place. And she'd throw a party if a fire burnt down every building...

Luna took a deep breath. She needed to stop being so dark and demented, being so negative all the time was really just making things worse. Like...sure her father was a deranged bloodthirsty madman....and he was forcing kids to do what he wanted. And She knew what he wanted was awful... but didn't mean she had to always be in an awful mood. Being a negative Nancy was never fun.

She sighed and walked into a small diner, the Gotham weather was brutal. And it definitely felt like November...but like worse...because this was Gotham. It was gloomy, smelt like car fumes, and everything was icy from freezing rain. So walking into a nice warm diner was amazing. Luna sat down in the first open spot she found and took off her jacket. She really shouldn't be here...she had a job to do, she had to scout some people for Father. He lost ten brats in three days.

Wonder if Grayson was one of them? Last she heard he was in awful shape or something. She heard a bit of what happened a few days ago and it sounded absolutely awful. And she saw Father afterwards. Luna shuddered and opened up a menu.

He looked pretty bad. She hadn't been able to tell if he was covered in his own blood or Grayson's....probably Grayson's though...if he wasn't doing too good right now he obviously had been the one to get hurt. She snickered, he wasn't escaping anytime soon.

"C-" A redheads waitress walked up to her and started to ask what she wanted to drink and so on.

"Coffee....a big cup of coffee," Luna said quickly tossing her the menu, "And just some fries...if you guys have any this time." She looked up at the waitress, the redhead looked irritated but she just forced a smile and nodded. Luna scowled, this diner could be good.....if teenagers didn't run the place.

A minute later the redhead returned and put a mug of coffee down on the table. "Your fries should be out in a minute," She said.

Luna nodded, "Thanks...."Luna paused and looked at the redhead's name tag, "Barbara."

The girl just nodded and walked away. Luna sat in silence and just stared at her coffee...that girl...she was sure she knew her. Barbara....Barbara...that sounded so familiar.

Grayson knew her, that's Barbara Gordon.

"How's Grayson doing," Luna asked smiling. She didn't know why she said that...it's like she'd been waiting for years to say that and remind Barbara that her best friend was probably actually dead....

Barbara looked confused for a second and she looked hurt when she realized what Luna meant. "I'm going to check on your fries," She muttered quietly.

"Quickly please!" Luna smiled.

Why did that feel so good?

She snickered quietly and looked out the window. She'd always hated Richard Grayson....always. She didn't know why but she hated him....so she supposed it was only natural that she hated his best friend. He didn't even deserve to have a best friend...he was a sorry excuse for a human. So it was quite amusing to hear what was happening to him.

He'd die there....soon most likely.

She grinned. Man...she wanted to tell Barbara everything...she wanted to ruin her day so very badly! Hell, she wanted to bring Barbara to Grayson and maybe have them both die!

Have him watch her be killed or maybe her watch him be killed. Or wait...Bruce Wayne would have to be there too! It would be like a big family reunion! Luna quickly stood up and rushed out of the diner not paying for anything, she had to tell Father.

He'd love this fun idea! 

She hated her job.  
It was awful, she had to work on weekends, stay late on school nights...and deal with awful customers. Barbara huffed and sat on a bar stool, this diner used to be her favorite place to hang out. She remembered how much her and Dick would come here just to talk and just enjoy their evenings. Barbara frowned, she hadn't spoken with him for almost a week and she was starting to get worried. She figured he was probably depressed....it made sense. Obviously.

He hasn't been himself for months....she knew why but then again she didn't. She so badly wanted to understand what happened and how to help him. She wanted her best friend back!

She rested her chin on her palm.

That girl didn't help make her feel any better.

How's Grayson?

What's that supposed to mean!? Was she making fun of him? Or was she genuinely concerned....? Ugh, she doubted it since that girl also left without paying.

"Ms. Gordon, you can leave early," Her boss said, walking up to her.

She raised her eyebrows, "Why?" She stood up, she was definitely not going to complain because she wanted out of here.

"We’ve got to close early, The Jokers making a scene about a block away. Police went downtown to be evacuated..." He explained. This was pretty much routine....because this was Gotham City. What else did you expect?

Barbara scowled, "Shoot." Her dad wouldn't be able to pick her up, he'd be dealing with the joker.

Again.

Agh.

Her dad had been working late every day this week...and everything seemed to be getting worse in this city. Batman hadn't been seen for about a week....so it was expected every villain would want to cause chaos. "Are you able to get home safely?" Her boss asked.

Barbara nodded, she only lived about a mile away and it wouldn't take long to walk. "Yeah. I'll be fine!" She said, getting her coat, "Stay safe!" She said opening the door.

"You too, Ms Gordon."

Barbara shivered once she stepped outside and put her hood up. This weather was miserable! Freezing rain, wind and it was just so cold. "This'll be a nice walk," She muttered sarcastically.

After about five minutes out in the cold she decided she'd rather take the bus.

Barbara + cold - happiness = awful and sad.

She sat down at the bus stop and pulled out her phone.

"I wouldn't bother texting Grayson, he won't be answering," A familiar voice said.

Barbara jumped and looked up and scowled when she saw the blonde girl standing next to her. She narrowed her eyes, "What's your Problem!?" She hissed. She wanted to strangle a blonde brat and throw her under the bus.

"Just telling the truth, Barbara," Luna shrugged, sitting down.

"You don't know that! You don't even know h-"

Luna snickered, "I know who he is, I've seen more of him than I wanted." She smirked and looked at Barbara as if she were waiting for a negative reaction.

Barbara looked at her confused, "What?" She asked. "Just...go away!" She hissed frustrated. What was her game!? She knew him??? Like knew knew him? Was that what she meant!? And he didn't tell her!? Or was it like a one time thing!?

"Well I'm waiting for the bus," She smiled.

Barbara stood up and started to walk off. "Oh, you're walking now?" The girl asked trailing after her.

"Yes!" Barbara yelled, turning to face her. "And you're going to go AWAY!" She screamed. And then she was going and asking Dick who this girl was and what she meant! Was she a jealous ex or something! "If you're his girlfriend you can rest easy because I'm no threat!"

The girl laughed and smiled. "I'd never date him, no one can now," She said laughing.

Barbara narrowed her eyes, anger flooding through her veins. "Shhhh, little redhead. No need to get all upset, it's the truth! He's not my type, I don't like boys that are dying." She shrugged and started to walk away.

That really caught Barbara's attention.

Barbara rushed to the girl and grabbed her arm, "Dying!?" Okay what!? This was getting really worrying. And it didn't help that she hasn't spoken to Dick for almost a week.

But he was fine....this girl was just trying to scare her.

She turned around and grinned, "Why don't you go and see him?" She paused, "Wait you can't do that....because he's GONE. He's dead, you won't find him."

Barbara's eyes widened and she turned around and bolted down the street. Okay change of plans, not going home. She was heading to Wayne Manor...she didn't know how she'd get there but she would figure that out.

Hopefully.

  
Barbara tossed a bike aside on the grass and dashed up to the front entrance of Wayne Manor. She tried to call Dick before she got here, she called Bruce and no one answered. Her heart raced as she rang the doorbell once, twice, three times. She pretty much just hit it repeatedly. She groaned and backed away. No one has heard from anyone in Wayne manor for a week....she didn't think much of it at first, but after what that girl said she realized that maybe their silence was BAD.

"Hello!?" She yelled, knocking on the door. Agh no one answered. "Door by the kitchen," She mumbled running to the back, she nearly tripped over the bike in the process. It wasn't hers...some poor soul left it unlocked by a corner store.

This was Gotham....no one would think much of it. Plus she was stealing for a reason.

"Ugh," She hissed when she found the kitchen door was locked. She pulled a bobby pin out from her hair, Dick had taught her how to pick locks. Why he even knew how....uh she wasn't gonna ask.

It took her at least a minute but she managed to get it open. "Alfred!?" She yelled walking into the kitchen. She flicked on the lights and frowned, didn't seem like anyone had been in here. Normally it smelt like cookies or other amazing things Alfred made. But....nothing. "Bruce!?" She yelled walking into the hall. No lights.

She frowned and started to walk up the stairs. "Dick!?" She was getting very worried. Maybe they're on vacation? She did remember Bruce saying something about getting out of Gotham for a bit, he figured maybe that would lift Dicks spirits. He'd been so depressed...and all the stuff with Daniel Crawford getting away from the cops probably wasn't helping.

"Dick!?" She called out again.

If he was going away he'd let her know! She was his best friend and he told her everything! She frowned and quickly opened his door, she was praying he'd be in here and scream at her for not knocking but she was met with silence. "Hello?" She turned on the lights and pulled out her cell phone and dialed his number.

Come on pick up!

Barbara looked up when she heard his phone go off. "Ugh," She huffed and went over to his desk and picked up his phone, this didn't seem right. He wouldn't go off on vacation without his phone...

She sat down on his bed and took a deep breath. She was starting to feel lightheaded and sick....and she wanted to cry...

That girl.

That girl was right.

Oh god no....

__________________________________

She didn't know what to do.

"Deep breaths, Barbara," She muttered, pacing back and forth. She had double checked every inch of this manor and then some. "She can't be right. It's not possible." She took a deep breath and stopped in front of Dicks computer desk and sat down. "He can't be dead...Crawford was the bad guy and everyone knows it....he couldn't have kidnapped him. He doesn't ha-" Barbara froze.

Crawford was the bad guy. Everyone knew it! Someone had gotten him caught, she didn't know exactly how since the public wasn't told about the details. But maybe Dick was the one to rat him out?? Maybe Crawford knew it was him and then killed him for it!?

She quickly stood up and rushed out of the room and booted outside. She pulled out her phone and dialed her dad's number. "Pick up!" She hissed. After trying to call him and getting voicemail each time she growled and grabbed the bike she stole.

Her dad was probably dealing with the Joker still. She wouldn't be able to get a hold of him until later tonight, she had to figure out another way to get help.

Maybe she could run to the GCPD? Surely they'd do something to help?

No. They were practically useless....they didn't even save Dick the first time, she heard it was Batman and h-

Batman!

Batman could help her! She could go up and turn on the signal tonight and wait for him....well actually she might be waiting for awhile since he hadn't even been seen for a week.

Oh well...suppose it was worth a try.

  
Barbara rubbed her hands together and shivered. Getting up to the roof where the signal was wasn't that hard, no one really even questioned her. Being the daughter of the Commissioner really had its perks....even though he was always so busy she couldn't spend much time with him.

Barbara paced back and forth, fingers crossed that Batman would show up tonight. But after about 45 minutes of standing in the cold she was about to give up and just go and tell the police....even though they'd call her crazy. She had absolutely no proof that Dick was even missing. Bruce had a tendency to plan vacations out of nowhere and sometimes they'd be gone for up to three weeks at a time.

The only 'proof' she had was he left his phone behind and that could have been a mistake, people forget things all the time.

She sighed and turned to go inside but froze when she heard someone behind her. Her breath hitched and and turned around and smiled widely when she saw Batman standing there. He didn't seem happy and he definitely looked angrier than usual. "Batman! You have no idea how happy I am to see you!" She took a deep breath.

"Where's the commissioner," He growled, It seemed more of a statement than a question.

"Not here, he didn't call for you. I did," She replied quickly. Her eyes widened when he seemed to get ready to leave. "Wait! Don't leave!" She cried out running to him. "My friend! H-He's gone and so is-" She took a deep breath, okay she couldn't make a fool out of herself. "Dick Grayson, I haven't heard f-from him in a week....and this girl started harassing me and saying awful things about him...and now he's dying!" She started to pace, "But I-I'm not s-sure If it's true and i... just didn't want to risk it!"

Something in Batman changed, "Can you please help me?" Barbara asked. "I'll tell you everything I know!"

"The girl," He started to say.

"She seemed to know him!" She blurted out interrupting Batman. "She said something about him dying, and she seemed happy about it!"

Batman grimaced, "What did she look like?"

Barbara bit her lip. "She had short curly blonde hair...uh brown eyes I think. A-and she was rather short. I was her waitress at the diner downtown, she left without paying..."

Batman turned and started to leave.

"Wait!? You're going to look into it....right?" She asked.

He paused and she saw him nod. After that he quickly left disappearing in the shadows.

She sighed and turned off the Batsignal. Well it was good to know that Batman was still in Gotham, after not hearing about him for a while she was beginning to worry he was dead or something.

______________________________

Everything....hurt.

Absolutely everything.

But he couldn't remember what happened. Or well he knew what happened because of where he was...or something like that. But he couldn't remember like....what actually happened.

God he was so confused…

Was he drugged now?

Probably.

Did he care?

Not at the moment.

Dick clenched his eyes shut and shivered. It was so cold in here....where was he? Alaska? That would be nice, Crawford wouldn't be there.

Crawford....ugh.

He wanted that man dead but he didn't have the energy to be too upset with him. Yeah he was basically on the verge of death because of that man....but he didn't care. He just didn't have the energy.

He didn't care.

He was dying anyways.

Crawford didn't bother to stop the bleeding so Dick guessed he'd lay here and just bleed out or something.

Death sounded SO much better than being stuck with Crawford. That man was sick and he was determined to learn league secrets, and he wasn't going to stop until he got what he wanted.  
He really hoped he was dead before Crawford got back. Because he'd rather die now than with Crawford in the room.

_________________________________

Luna sat at a makeshift table and put her feet up, she'd just returned from Gotham and maaan was it rough. She had to scout out some new brats, not the fun kind to stalk rich kind but the street trash that no one would care about. Father had said they needed to make money but not be way obvious about it. She sighed and closed her eyes, she didn't really mind looking for brats because she enjoyed helping out Father...it was like an instinct to just do what he said no questions asked.

Sorta weird but whatever.

This trip to Gotham though wasn't successful. After she had tormented Grayson's side bitch or whatever, her quest for kids was interrupted by the Joker. Apparently Batman had been absent for a week and the Clown didn't like it and threw a party for Batman downtown and Batman actually showed up!

Luna giggled, Batman....ah he'd probably been busy trying to find his stupid kid. Oh man she was sure he punched that clown so hard in the face for that!

"Did you find anything?"

Luna looked up and saw Father walk into the makeshift kitchen. He was a mess, the little hair he had was sticking up in every direction, his shirt was wrinkled and covered in blood, and he had a bloody nose. "Nope."

He scowled and cursed under his breath, "We really need money, Luna. I'd love it if you'd listen to me!" He hissed pulling a can of beer out of a mini fridge. "I owe someone A LOT of money right now."

She rolled her eyes, "Uh excuse me? I did listen to you! But everyone was hiding because of the crazy clown man."

Crawford looked confused, "What?"

She sighed, "Nothing. But just listen to this, Batman was distracted by the Joker, he won't be finding us anytime soon....so we have time to get more brats and money." Then they'd be able to get in a better building....one that wasn't ancient and full of mold and vermin.

"I'm not worried about the bat," Crawford replied. He wiped off his face and opened his beer, "He ain't gonna find us."

"We're literally like a mile out of Gotham city, give him a month or two."

"He WON'T find us, I got an idea," Crawford said sitting down.

Luna raised an eyebrow, "An idea?" She removed her legs from the table and sat up straight. Ooh this was gonna be a funny one she was sure of it.

"We Blackmail him! Say if he even thinks about finding us I'll tell the world who he is and release League Secrets!" He grinned, "Genius right!?" His eyes were wide and one twitched, Luna cringed.

She took his beer and tossed it across the room, "You're drunk," She said shaking her head, "Just because you threaten to release secrets you don't have doesn't mean Batman will listen." That man was nuts, he didn't care about that. (Maybe?) She knew for a fact he'd still come and get Grayson.

"I'll get those secrets soon I'm sure of it, his brat will talk." He stood up, "I'll make sure of it."

Luna laughed loudly, "Your confidence is nauseating," She replied.

"I know he will, I de-"

"Please don't tell me what you did to him. I heard enough of it," She said interrupting him. She'd rather stay oblivious to what exactly happened. She knew he was stabbed, Father had bragged about that the first time he left that room. But that was all the detail she needed.

"Listen. He's going to break soon, he's a coward. Eventually he'll stop being a little brat and he'll do what I say," Crawford smiled and crossed his arms. "He barely even fought me this time."

"Oh, so he didn't give you a bloody nose?"

Crawford scoffed, "Ugh well he did...but that's not a big deal. I made him sorry for that." He knew Grayson couldn't go any longer with this. That kid was at his breaking point....it was only a matter of time. "Give me five more hours and he'll talk!" He then started to leave.

"Wait!" Luna hissed. "Don't be a fool, it won't work." She crossed her arms, “I don’t even want to think about how many ‘bad’ guys have already tried to get information out of him. He’s not going to just tell you, at this point he’s gonna take his secrets to his grave. I don’t think he could care less about his own safety at this point.”

He scowled and turned to look at her. “I can do it.”

She simply rolled her eyes, “No,” She scoffed, “You cannot. You’ve been tormenting him nonstop and if anything he’s wearing YOU down.” She motioned to his appearance, Grayson had clearly put up one hell of a fight. He had scratch marks all over his face, up his arms and he had a bloody nose. “You look like the one who’s been assaulted,” She said shrugging. 

His eyes narrowed, “I can assure you he looks far worse than I do-”

“That is not the point!” She hissed, “The point is you’re fucking hopeless and you need to think outside of the box, old man.” The whole, lets just beat the shit out of the kid until he talks thing, and doing terrible terrible disgusting acts on said kid obviously wasn’t working, or working fast enough. 

Crawford forced himself to take a deep breath, “Well what do you suggest?” He asked, annoyed. “I don’t have all day!” Time wasn’t something he had much of. 

A sly grin snaked its way onto the pale girl's face, “This won’t take long… if anything this’ll help speed things up.” 

_________________________________________

Luna pulled up her red hood and balanced on a tree branch. Gotham was the last place she wanted to be at the moment, she could not stand this weather! Freezing rain, wind, and just the stench of cars and trash was absolutely disgusting. She took a deep breath and looked down at the house she was watching, this was going to be simple really while she didn’t know Dick Grayson very well nor did she want to, she did however know how much his friends meant to him...or at least Barbara Gordon. 

He was glued to her side at school, always trailing after her like a lost dog it was nauseating really. So she figured if her life was on the line he’d do whatever he could to help her, he was an annoying self-righteous bastard after all and she couldn’t wait until Father got bored with him and killed him or sold him to some snuff director. 

She bit her lip and fixed her eyes on the front door, trying to figure out a quiet and quick way into the house. But just as she thought she had a plan the lights downstairs flicked on and the front door opened.

Jim Gordon still buttoning up his coat rushed down the front steps and got into his car and sped down the road. A small smirk appeared on Luna's pale face when she saw her target standing in the doorway.

Oh this was going to be easy.

This was an awful day.

Absolutely awful.

Her best friend was missing.

And just when she thought she could speak to her dad about it he had to rush BACK to the GCPD.....at 3 in the damn morning. Barbara sighed and slammed the front door shut and shuffled to the couch, god she was exhausted. Barbara rubbed her eyes and groaned.

She had to get up for school in like three ish hours and she really just didn't want to go. How the hell could she continue on with her life while Dick was probably suffering or dying!? If Crawford really was who had him or the reason why he was missing then....

No, she couldn’t think about this now.

She quickly stood up and started to go upstairs, she needed to change and get at least an hour of sleep. She couldn't help if she was running on no sleep. She paused mid-step when she thought she heard something....but it was probably just the house. It was pretty old so it made creaking noises.

She remembered when those creaking noises scared her so much Dick came over and debunked all her theories of ghosts and demons haunting this house.

She continued to walk up to her room and she flicked on her light and started to get ready to sleep. Just as she was about to take off her shirt she heard a sigh come from behind her, Barbara turned and saw a hooded figure in her doorway and she screamed.

"You should really shut your blinds before you get naked, some old pervert could be watching."

Barbara stumbled back and grabbed her lamp and threw it at the intruder. The person sighed and dodged it, "I'd stop that if I were you."

Barbara didn't know what to say, how was she supposed to react!? There was a stranger in her house! "GET OUT!" She shrieked, throwing whatever she could get her hands on. "GET OUT, GET OUT!"

The person seemed unfazed and started to get closer.

Barbara's eyes widened when she ran out of things to throw. Okay this could go two ways, she could either corner herself and be murdered, or she could attempt to run past the person and try to get away.

She picked the second option.

Barbara shoved the person aside as hard as she could and bolted out of her room and stumbled downstairs. She cursed herself when she tripped on the last step and she fell.

She forced herself back up and her eyes widened when she saw a large man standing by the front door, his arms crossed. "Going somewhere?" He asked. Barbara paled and stood up, what was even happening!?

"Oh come on...." The hooded intruder whines walking up behind her. "Don't you want to see your best friend?" Barbara clenched her eyes shut when she felt a gun be pressed up against her back.

"What are you talking about?" She was trying not to cry but this was absolutely terrifying.

The girl removed her hood and forced Barbara to look at her. "You're making this harder. Uh don't you remember.....?" Luna was actually disappointed, she had a recognizable voice. How did Barbara not notice it was her?

Barbara narrowed her eyes, "I told Batman," She spat out. "He knows who you are." She would kick the blonde girl but she had a gun. So that was a no go, "The second word is out I'm gone, you're done for," She growled.

Luna laughed and when the goon stayed silent she shit him a glare and he started to awkwardly laugh. "Oooh, I'm petrified!" She sighed and pressed the gun to Barbara's forehead. "He already wants us dead because of your friend. The bat doesn't like it when people kidnap his kid." She sighed and grabbed Barbara's arm and dragged her to the goon, her gun now pressed to her hip. 

"W-Wait, w-what!?" Barbara stuttered, Wait why did they want her!?!? And they had Batman's kid!? What was even happening, "My dad is going to kill you!" She yelled.

"Tell me something I don't know," Luna muttered.

  
___________________________

"You're just making this harder on yourself," Crawford said, frowning. "I'm trying to help you!"

He was for once being nice to the brat, he gave him clothes. Simple shirt and sweatpants and he stitched up the stab wound....see he could be nice! He even offered to give him something to eat or drink but he just sat there with his head on the table, completely ignoring everything going on around him.

Crawford sat down across from Dick, "Ignoring me won't make me leave," Crawford hissed. "You belong to me! And you will tell me what I want to hear!" He hit his fist on the table and his eye twitched when Dick didn't move. Crawford took a very deep breath, "Alright," He said softly, "Listen, Pretty Boy let's make a deal."

Dick lifted his head slowly, clenching his eyes when even that small action sent a wave of pain throughout his sore body. “A d-deal?” He asked quietly, opening his eyes. A deal with this man? “W-What kid?” He clenched his eyes back shut and shifted slightly, he wanted to just go lay down, sitting really wasn’t comfortable right now but at this point he doubted he’d even be capable of laying down without that hurting. 

God, he’d rather be dead.

"You tell me what I want to hear, and I won't hurt your friend." He smiled and stared at Dick. "Deal?" It was a simple deal, just a yes or no. This could be done in less than an hour...hopefully.

Dick looked back at him, confused. "What?" He didn't know If he heard Crawford right, his head was pounding, he was starving, he felt dizzy and everything hurt.

Crawford smiled, "Tell me what I want to hear.....and I won't touch your friend," He said again, leaning back in his chair.

Dick sat there dead silent. He didn't get it....friend, they all abandoned him. Ran off and left him to be with Crawford....unless Crawford had them as well and just now decided to use them as leverage. "....who?" He asked. He was hoping this was a lie, a way to manipulate him into spilling league secrets?

Crawford chuckled clearly amused by his confusion and now growing distress. "Is it a deal?" He asked again, leaning closer to the table. 

Dick tried to sit up straight but winced, "No....who?" He was not making any deals that could screw him over more than he already was.

"You don-"

"Yes I do!" Dick growled. "I will never make a damn deal with you until I know who the hell you're talking about!" He had no idea how he still had the energy for this, he felt like he was going to drop dead any second. But then again yelling at Crawford was so satisfying....

"You will not raise your voice at me," Crawford stood up quickly causing his chair to fall back. "You either say, Yes we have a deal, or no we do not!" Surely this kid wasn't that selfish.

"I'm not making any deals until you give me answers!" Dick hissed. He wanted nothing more than to just stand up and kick that guy where the sun doesn't shine and just beat the living daylights out of him.

Crawford grabbed Dick by his chin, digging his sharp and dirty nails into his skin and he forced the boy to make eye contact. “You will, Pretty Boy,” He sneered, “Whether you like it or not. You WILL.” He then pulled away and wiped his hands on his pants, “Now I’ll leave you to think about what I’ve said.” He looked at Dick and just smiled smugly. “You’ve got no choice.” Not here, not ever.   
He was going to tell him what he wanted to hear and he WAS going to start listening. 

____________________

“You're sick!" Barbara spat out as she did everything she could to get that sick freak away from her, she had no fucking idea what this was about and not the slightest clue on what they needed her for. 

Luna sighed and pulled Barbara out of the car, "Oh come on. Do tell me something I don't already know?" She hissed.

Barbara let out a frustrated scream when the goon pushed her forward. "Keep walking redhead or I'll beat your skull in," He grumbled. Luna just rolled her eyes and walked up an old cracked path, stepping over trash and cigarettes. This was an awful building, it was old and moldy and sometimes the lights didn't work. Honestly she wasn't even too sure of what it was. Sometimes she wondered if it was an old apartment building because of how many rooms and halls there were but it was a bit too bare....

It was odd. But who cares. "You could probably bash her head in and Father wouldn't care, it would give this a bit more drama.” Some blood and a potential brain injury could be great motivation for Grayson. “The more we hurt her the more Grayson will spill about the League.” 

Barbara's eyes widened and her confusion only worsened, "Wha-" She was about to say but was shoved through a doorway.

"Father should be in his office, just drag her along." Luna headed down the dim and damp hall, this definitely had to be an old apartment building or something. It just had the layout of one....sorta? She'd look into it because she was getting really curious. Maybe a few walls had been torn down or something....Father had the tendency to do that. Or maybe his boss did? She didn't know what he was like....she felt like she did but she didn't at the same time.

She was blonde after all.....

"Father I got the redhead!" She yelled opening the door.

Crawford was sitting at his desk. "Any trouble?" He asked looking over at the door.

"None on my end, looks like lots on yours." She walked up to the desk and sat on it. "Looks like you got the shit beat out of you." She smirked.

Crawford exhaled and rubbed his temples, "Shut your trap." He still couldn’t believe how much that kid put up a fight, no matter how much he hit and hurt him he kept fighting, even when he’d try and tie the brat down he’d still get some kicks and hits in. “That fucking brat is insufferable.” But he supposed he should have expected this, he was the Batman’s brat. 

"Let me go you sick person!" Barbara hissed as she was shoved into the room. She then turned and glared at Crawford and the blonde girl. "You sick bastards!" She yelled, she wanted to lunge at them, rip them to shreds but the goon had a firm grip on her arms.

"Ms. Gordon I'd appreciate it if you would cooperate with us," Crawford said standing up.

Barbara scoffed, "No way in he-"

Crawford sent her a murderous glare and that shut her up. "I do not want to hurt you, it would be a shame to see a lovely girl hurt." He stood in front of her a fake smile on his face, "But I suppose whether you get out of here alive isn't up to me."

Barbara wanted to gag when he was in front of her, this man was disgusting. He smelt like sweat and old alcohol and his white button up shirt had dried blood all over it and it looked as if he hadn't changed for days. "Your fate lies in your friends hands..."He smiled.

Barbara furrowed her eyebrows. She had managed to piece together that Dick had to be here somewhere and he knew something Crawford wanted to know and it didn't sound as If he was saying anything. But she was still confused, what did Dick know!? The league? She had suspicions but she wasn't sure. "I swear to god if you hurt him-"

Crawford laughed, cutting off the girl's threat. "Darling worry about yourself."

"Might wanna start this soon Father, Grayson might croak in the next few hours or something." All they did was stitch him up, didn't fix the fact that he lost lots of blood and hasn't eaten for days. As tough as that kid was....he was only human.

"Yes...I suppose we should." Crawford grabbed Barbara by her hair and started to drag her down the hall, this girl was almost as annoying as Grayson was.

"Let me go!" She shrieked trying to get away. If she had her arms free she'd beat this man, she'd rip out his eyes, tear off his limbs and shove them where the sun didn't shine. "When my dad gets here he's going to kill you!"

Crawford stopped in front of a door, "Oh please, Jim Gordon is practically useless."

Barbara spat at him, "Not only that but Batman knows about you, I spoke with him the other day. He's hot on your trail and he's going to get you!"

That seemed to piss Crawford off because he kicked the door open and pushed her inside. It seemed to be some sort of half-assed interrogation rooms. Like one you'd see in a movie...except this room was...well real. Oh and it smelt like mold.

"Wake up Grayson, I've got you a friend!" Crawford yelled, kicking the table.

Barbara's eyes widened and she looked over at the table and saw Dick sitting down, his head on the table. "I'm surprised what we did earlier didn't motivate you to speak," Crawford said, forcing Barbara to sit. "I'd think nearly breaking your jaw would be enough." He scowled when Dick didn't move.

Barbara wanted to cry.

She didn't know what to do or what to say. "H-How could you??" She glared at Crawford, she didn't want to be afraid of this man....but...it was hard to be brave when you didn't know what to expect.

"Don't say that to me, say it to him," He said pointing across the table. "He's the one who's willing to get you killed just because he doesn't want to tell the truth."

Barbara's eyes widened and she stared at the table. "Now, Grayson." Crawford stood over Dick, "Wake up!" He yelled, grabbing him by his hair, he quickly lifted his head then slammed it on the table. Dick let out a pained cry and he squeezed his eyes shut, his body trembling.

"I wouldn't have had to do that If you listened to me," He said, smiled and pulled up another chair and sat down and grinned when the two brats were silent. Thank god. "Now we're going to play a little game."

"Don't t-touch her!” 

Crawford looked at Dick and smirked, "You know I wouldn't do that to her. But I will hurt her…. in other ways." He grinned and turned back to Barbara, "Don't worry darling, I know your friend wouldn't let anything happen to you. That's why he'll tell me what I want to hear because clearly he's a hero....he puts others before him, isn't that right Pretty Boy?" He just stayed silent and stared at the table, Crawford didn't know if it was because he was being selfish or he was actually a bit dazed from getting his head slammed on the table. "Answer me," Crawford growled.

Dick clenched his eyes shut and stayed silent.

Crawford laughed and stood up, "This will be enjoyable then." He then left the room and locked the door.

"A-Are you okay?" Barbara whispered. She felt like it was a stupid question to ask because it was obvious he wasn't, he looked at if he was about to drop dead any second, he was as white as a ghost and it seemed as if he’d been beaten pretty badly. She frowned when she didn't get a response she started to worry more. "Dick!?" She asked louder, "Come on...say something!"

He just rested his head back on the table, "I'm sorry," came his muffled and tired response.

Barbara sighed, she wanted to hug him and tell him everything would be fine and that they'd find a way out of this....but she didn't want to lie to him. She didn't know if everything would work out and honestly she didn't think any good could come from this. "Tell him what he wants," She said quickly, "He won't hurt us then." She took a deep breath. "He won't hurt us if you listen....I'll be alright. He'll get what he wants and then everything will be fine, we will both be fine. It’ll be good, fine, all dandy.” 

Dick looked up and closed his eyes. "No." He shook his head and winced, that simple action hurting like hell. "He won't stop, Barbara," He replied, his voice trembling. "I....I....no matter what I do he still does it...he does whatever he wants with us. We don't matter, o-once he gets what he wants out of me I really am better off dead and so are you."

"How reassuring," She murmured, frowning her heart hammering in her chest. She didn’t have the slightest clue on what was going on or why but she knew this wasn’t going to end well. 

Dick just rested his head back on the table and went silent, “Why is he doing this?” Barbara asked after a few uncomfortable moments in silence but Dick didn’t respond. “Dick?” She dug her teeth into her bottom lip, ignoring the pain, her legs shaking. Oh god, what was even going on. “Please tell me what’s going on, Dick,” She whispered. “What does he want?” She was starting to really get scared and she felt like she was going to either vomit or burst into tears. 

Barbara jumped when the door opened and Crawford and the goon from earlier walked in. "Alright kids!" Crawford dumped random tools on the table, there was a pair of pliers, a hammer, a cattle prod? "Now, this is a simple game-" Crawford paused and scowled when he saw Dick wasn't listening. "For God's sake, Pretty Boy!" He grabbed the hammer and hit the table just missing his head. Dicks head shot up and he groaned. "Thank you." Crawford sighed.

"Just kill them now," The goon said, shaking his head.

Crawford ignored the Goon, "Now this game is simple. All I will do is ask some questions and every-time you refuse to answer I will hurt your friend!" Crawford picked up the pair of pliers, "I can rip off fingernails, oh oh I can also break fingers!"

Barbara felt her blood drain and she looked at Dick who was staring at the table. He was going to cooperate right!? He wouldn't let her get hurt right!? He wouldn't let that happen....he couldn't be that selfish!? God she was so confused.

The goon walked over to Barbara and untied her hands, she tried to wriggle out of his grip and hit someone but he was so much stronger and before she knew it one hand was handcuffed to the chair and one to the table. Crawford handed the goon a roll of duct tape, "As much as I would love to hear your screams....I wouldn't want you to interrupt some of the answers."

Barbara quickly spat at him, "You're a sick man, Crawford. I hope you rot-" She started to say but the goon slapped some of the duct tape on her face, a little too much but he was just making sure....

Crawford smiled when all he heard was muffled curses. "Alright Pretty Boy, we're going to start with a simple question," He said picking up some pliers, "Is Batman Bruce Wayne?" He asked. He really already knew the answer....or well he thought he did. It was pretty obvious....but you could never be too sure. He sighed when he got no response yet, "Come on Pretty Boy!" Crawford grabbed Barbara's hand and slowly started to pull at one of her fingernails. Barbara let out a muffled sound and tried to yank her hand away but that was practically impossible because of the handcuffs and his grip. "Do you really want her to remember you as a selfish prick?" Crawford asked, pulling harder. "Selfish, selfish!" He hissed.

Dick clenched his eyes shut, if his hands weren't handcuffed he'd cover his ears. He could hear Barbara's muffled cries, he knew that hurt, he knew how that felt. It had happened a few times to him and he couldn't stand the fact that she was in pain. 

Oh god. 

Crawford laughed maniacally as he ripped the first finger nail off, her arm nearly jerking out of his grip, tears streaming down her face. “Can you hear her cries, Pretty Boy?” 

Dick looked at Crawford horrified, he opened his mouth to say something but the moment he locked eyes with Barbara...oh god. “I-I,” He stammered.

She hated him.

This was his fault.

"You’re surprising me, really,” Crawford shook his head. “I thought you’d do whatever it takes to spare your dear friend from this pain?” He stifled a laugh and forced the girl to hold her arm up, “Look. I ripped the nail right off.” He flicked the nail in Dick’s direction and laughed when he clenched his eyes shut, “Lets try a different question, how much do you know about the League?” He asked, he was honestly really curious. This was a fun way to have a Q & A, “Identity wise that is.”

Dick wanted to kill himself right here and right now, “N-Nothing!” he cried out, “Nothing, please!" He cried out. Was there anyway out of this!? "Don't hurt her, please I'm begging you!" He cried, he didn't know what to do. He didn't want her hurt but he couldn’t answer this. He couldn’t, Crawford already knowing his and Batman’s identity was detrimental.

Crawford rolled his eyes, “Pretty Boy, I'm insulted honestly.” He eyed the hammer he laid on the table, “I wasn’t born yesterday.” He could smell a liar a mile away, “I don’t like liars, I outta punish you after this.” He picked the hammer up, “But for now I suppose Ms. Gordon will be the one paying for your poor decisions.” Without a second thought and hesitation he smashed the girls hand with the hammer, breaking out into a fit of laughter when her scream even with the duct tape was ear piercing, and she squirmed trying to get her hand away from him desperately. 

Crawford found this to be hysterical, The redhead was crying and shaking and Pretty Boy was just staring at the scene wide eyed like the fucking fool he was. God damn this was amazing! But he still wasn't getting answers. He set the hammer aside and looked at Dick, "You're pathetic Grayson," He said crossing his arms. "You're a selfish boy. You only care about yourself, if you could save anyone in this building it would be your sorry ass.” The damn brats true colors seemed to be showing, he was no hero. He cared only about himself.

"No, no!" That wasn't true, he wasn't selfish. He cared about other people he really did! "Don't hurt her anymore, p-please! She didn't do anything to you!" He took a deep breath, "I'll do a-anything, just don't hurt her!"

Crawford leaned back and raised his eyebrows, "Will you tell me what I want to hear?"

"Yes!" He really wouldn't be honest but he'd rather have Crawford not take his anger out on Barbara. She was innocent in this, she deserved better.

God she was going to kill him after this.

And Dick would probably let her at this point.

________________

She didn't really want to go and see Father, she'd just finished wrapping the redheaded brat's hand and she gave her one hell of a headache. And she had no doubt that Father would only make it worse, he was insufferable. No wonder all his brats never lasted more than a few months.

Well actually she'd heard that he had a brat for over 17 years, she didn't know how. Must've been a baby....oh god. Luna cringed and pushed the disturbing thoughts out of her head, she did not want to think about that.

Luna quickly opened the door to Fathers makeshift office and stepped inside, "You wanted me?" She asked walking up to his desk. She scowled when she noticed he was asleep so she hit her fist against the surface, "Wake up!" She hissed.

Crawford's head shot up and he scowled, "I was awake," He replied fixing his tie.

Luna scoffed and sat on the desk, "Yes you were."

Crawford just shoved her off the desk and stood up, "Shut your mouth and just listen to me," He said turning to the window. Luna opened her mouth to say something but stayed silent when a glare was shot in her direction. Crawford sighed, "I need you to do a rather large favor for m-"

"Get Grayson to do that, I just brushed my teeth," She replied quickly.

Crawford turned and looked at her, "He's no good for that," He replied scowling.

Luna snickered, "He bite?"

"Luna just shut your mouth and listen to me." Crawford was beginning to get annoyed, "You see all the fog out there?" He asked.

Luna walked up to the window and nodded, "Yes....it's rather obvious." The fog was incredibly thick and if It weren't for the mass amount of trash on the ground she'd think they were in a peaceful place in the forest. But they were actually pretty close to an abandoned power plant and lots of trash and rats.

"Gotham is experiencing even thicker fog, I need you to get to the manor and get whatever the police didn't find." Crawford turned away from the window and sat down, "In my office under the floorboards should be a large bag. Grab that then go to the room directly across from my office, In there you'll find a drawer full of matches and other shit that can start a fire."

Luna's eyes widened, "Wait...you want me to set the place on fire?" She laughed nervously, "Father I don't know how to do that....I'm not good at arson." Plus the Batman was probably lingering around and she really didn't want to run into him.

Crawford scowled, "I figured he'd teach you," He muttered under his breath.

"Who?" She asked, her eyebrows raised.

"Just...find some flammable shit and set everything on fire." He handed her some keys and he left the room quickly.

Well looked like she was going back to Gotham City.

Gotham City was a miserable city.

Absolutely miserable.

Luna shoved her hands in her coat pockets as she trudged up the cobblestone driveway to the Manor. The manor looked pretty awful, the grass was all dead and the hedges were all overgrown and the fountains water was a dark green. Luna frowned when she saw dead fish floating around, "Ugh." The city didn't seem to care about the state of this place.

The audacity!

Luna grabbed the keys from her pocket and headed towards the front entrance, the fog was incredibly bad today and the odds of someone seeing her was slim so she didn't bother being sneaky about this.

This was her house...

She stepped inside and jumped when the door slammed shut and she muttered a curse. This was awful, the place looked ransacked! The marble floor had muddy footprints all over the place and there was glass all over the place. Someone seemed to knock down all the glass decorations but Luna wasn't too surprised.

This was the house of a child predator.....

Obviously the police wouldn't be nice after they got what they wanted. Bruce Wayne probably paid them to trash the place even more, that did seem like something that rich prick would do.

Oh and he probably came back dressed as that Batman JUST TO TRASH IT MORE. God she'd love to punch him in the face and break his nose...but she couldn't so she'd probably just break Grayson's nose instead. He was basically their personal punching bag, he was probably used to it too since he was Batman's side bitch or something.

Luna sighed and rushed up the stairs and headed down the hall. She had to stay focused, Get the bag and get out.

She opened the door to the office and let out a frustrated scream when she saw the state of the room. The desk was shoved in the corner, the computer was missing, and the drawers were all open and papers were everywhere! "Oh bloody hell." She really did not want to clear the floor...

It took about an hour to clear the floor of all the trash and even longer to find a crowbar to pry the floorboards off. She huffed and knelt down and just stared at the floor, it was going to take her hours to find the exact location of the bag. She slowly stood up and her grip on the crowbar tightened.

"Oh well what's to lose?" She grinned and started to hack at the floor, smashing the wooden floorboards up. The sound of the wood cracking was the most satisfying thing and she screamed loudly when she continued smashing the floor. She didn't even concentrate on finding the hidden compartment, she was enjoying destroying the floor way too much.

but her fun abruptly stopped when the crowbar got stuck in the floorboards. She sighed and pulled it out revealing a hole with a dark blue duffel bag. She grinned and pulled it out and dragged it into the hall.

Alright now all she had to do was set the damn place on fire.

She stood up and looked at the door across the hall. That was where she could get the stuff to set this miserable building on fire. She cracked her knuckles and went to open the door but paused, for some reason a heavy feeling was starting to build up in her gut. She bit her lip and forced herself to open the door and walk in.

The first thing she noticed when she entered the room was the overwhelming scent of rotting flesh.

"What the hell!?" She covered her mouth and nose with her sleeve and tried to turn the lights on but she realized that the power was cut so she used the flashlight she'd brought with her.

The room was large and very hot, it was like this room had the heat still on. Ugh maybe it was in a warm spot? She sighed and started opening drawers quickly, she wasn't finding any lighters or matches. She only found clothes and random ashy looking stones. She scowled and looked at the walls and furrowed her brows when she noticed what seemed to be a family picture but all the faces seemed to either be scratched or burnt.

What the hell?

She looked over at the nightstand near an old bed and she picked up a small picture frame. In the picture were two people again with their faces scratched off. But she could make out a male and a female, one blonde the other had black hair.

Whose room was this? For some reason she couldn't recall if this room was even used or if she'd ever been here before.

Luna set the picture frame down and gagged. The stench was making her feel queasy, she had to get what she needed fast. She looked around some more and noticed a closet door and she hurried over to it and quickly opened the door and immediately vomited when the stench grew worse. Inside the closet right on the floor was a pile of dead animals, there was a bird, a cat, and what looked like a few rats. All were laid neatly in a pile with a box of matches set in front of them and what looked like a cat collar was laid on top of the dead cat. Luna picked it up and read the tag on it, Luna? Since when did they have a cat named Luna and how did it get in here? stumbled back, her stomach turning at the god awful smell.

She covered her mouth and nose again with her sleeve and slowly approached the closet, her heart hammering in her chest. She shone her flashlight directly in the closet and found a picture of Father with multiple needles stabbed into it and a large pentagram drawn around it.

What was this!?

Luna quickly grabbed the box of matches and slammed the closet door shut and she bolted out of the room and back into the office, she gathered random papers and put them in a large pile. She lit a match quickly and dropped it in the pile of papers. She then grabbed the duffel bag and ran down the stairs, tripping on the last step.

God dammit! How didn't the police find that!? What was that!? Did someone break in and have some satanic ritual in that room or something!?

Luna kicked the door open and she threw the bag out onto the grass and she collapsed next to it, her heart still racing.

She knew she had to get away from this place ASAP but she was exhausted and a real bad headache was starting to form. Oh god she couldn't get rid of that smell.....

It just lingered.

Luna clenched her eyes shut and took a deep breath.

Time to get out of here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to thank everyone for reading this, I wasn't expecting this to hit 1k reads as fast as it did. I'm thrilled to know people are enjoying this fic! It's been quite the experience to go through this and edit it because after publishing this on Wattpad I've never really re-read it or edited my mistakes. So I'm hoping this version is a far better one and easier to read, I do however feel really bad for Dick :,( I forgot how bad things got for him. 
> 
> Fingers crossed things get better soon :,)


	12. Chapter 12

She wanted to kick Dick in the face.

She wanted to scream at him.

She wanted to know what the heck was going on and what Crawford was talking about!

And she wanted to know why he'd lie to her, why didn't he tell her about his involvement in the Justice league and how did she not notice before?

But she really didn't know if she should be super angry, she found him so that was the only plus...uh he was alive. (sorta?) And he was still her best friend and she hoped they'd work this out and there'd be a happy ending and AGH. 

Barbara let out a frustrated sigh and she clutched her injured hand. That awful short blonde girl bandaged her hand but if anything that just made it hurt so much more.

Agh she had so many questions.

Barbara jumped when the door was quickly opened and someone was shoved into the room. "Dick?" She asked.

“Just...me," The person replied.

Barbara frowned and it took a second for her to recognize the person, "Evelyn?" She slowly sat up and winced when she put pressure on her hand. "He got you too?" God, Evelyn looked absolutely awful. Her hair was a tangled mess and it looked like someone had beat her to hell and back.

Evelyn sat down in the opposite corner and she just nodded. "He's trying to get Grayson too," She mumbled quietly.

Barbara scowled, "He did." That was why she was here.

Evelyn's eyes widened and she started to cry, "Oh god this is my fault!" She curled up and covered her face with her hands. "I shouldn't have sent that text, it's my fault he's here!"

Barbara slowly stood up and she moved next to Evelyn, this was really awkward. She'd never really been good friends with Evelyn, if anything she really disliked her. The only time they really spoke was in Gym and they were always trying to one-up each other and be the better athlete.

"What do you mean?" Barbara asked furrowing her brows, Evelyn just shook her head and went quiet. "What do you mean?" Barbara asked again, now really wasn't the time to be mysterious. Agh she was going to die here and she'd die with so many questions still unanswered.

Barbara took a deep breath and rubbed her hand.

She was going to die.

No one would find her.

She was dead.

  
________

"Why do you insist on making things so hard!" Crawford grabbed the boy by the collar around his bruised neck and shoved him back up against the wall roughly. "How much does the league know about the trafficking ring!?" He yelled, digging his nails into his wrist. "Tell me! Or so help me God I'll give your mouth another purpose!”

Dick clenched his eyes shut and attempted to kick the man but he let out a pained sound when the grip around the collar tightened, “Tell me what I want to fucking hear or I will make your friend suffer.” The things he could make happen to that girl...oh the possibilities were endless, ripping off her fingernails was only the beginning. “I’ve got plenty of men who’d love to spend time with her,” He sneered. 

And he meant it too, hell, he could probably sell her for great money on the black market. The commissioner wasn’t liked in the criminal world, for obvious reasons. He knew hundreds of people who’d love to have his daughter. It would be a great way to get to the man. He could even just shoot her in the face honestly, he loosened his grip and stepped back the boy fell to his knees and tried to catch his breath. 

“I’m waiting for my answer Pretty Boy, tick tock, tick tock.” 

“That...that you’re behind it.”

“And?” He crossed his arms letting go of the collar, he was growing both impatient and bored. 

Dick finally looked up at Crawford relieved that he could finally breathe a bit easier, “I don’t...know what else you want...me to say?” He replied quietly, this whole Trafficking ring was a confusing disaster. Was there more to it? There couldn’t be, this didn’t seem that deep. Daniel Crawford was just a sadistic man who took his sexual frustrations out of children and then sold them on the black market. 

There really couldn’t be more. 

Crawford just laughed and shoved Dick up against the headboard and he grinned. "So you really are clueless," He replied. Before Dick could even reply Crawford had his hands around his neck once again, squeezing tightly. "You're a pathetic excuse for a hero." His grip tightening.

A part of him just wanted to strangle him right now, just watch him panic and desperately try and get free.

But

He really didn't want to end him yet. He still wanted him to suffer....Crawford sighed and let go of his neck. He felt he was like a girl when it came to making decisions.

One thing he could easily decide on was he wanted to hear how loud this brat could scream. "Alright-" He started to say but was interrupted when there was a loud knock. Crawford scowled and stood up and fixed his pants. "Stay there or I'll slit your friends throat." Now that was one good threat...the brat surely would listen.  
Crawford then opened the door and slammed it shut.

Dick sat in silence and just stared at the door for what felt like hours when in reality it was probably only five minutes. He needed to get out of here.

He needed to get far far far away.

Dick waited in silence for another minute and when he didn't hear anything he slowly stood up and winced. Oh god everything hurt. Dick leaned against the wall and he looked around the room, Crawford had thrown his clothes on the floor somewhere in this room.

He stumbled back to the bed and slowly looked underneath it and grabbed his clothes. He groaned and sat down, he had gotten himself in pretty awful situations in the past few years but this by far was the absolute worst.

This was like a god awful nightmare and no matter what he did he couldn't wake up.

He slowly stood up and ignored the fact that the room felt like it was spinning. He struggled a bit to get dressed and he looked around the room. There was a vent he could fit through on the wall but he didn't think he'd be able to get up there.

The stab wound was starting to bleed again and it was already soaking through his shirt. Climbing up to it would just make it worse...didn't help he was probably bleeding somewhere else too. He walked to the door and sighed when it was unlocked, he really should be more cautious about this because Crawford and his idiots could literally be anywhere.

But they weren't so whatever.

He slowly walked down the empty hall and he stumbled a few times, the room spinning. Was he dying? He felt like he was thinking about this too much...yeah he was dying and there really wasn't too much he could do about it other than try and get Barbara out of here.

This was his fault after all, if he just listened to Crawford the first time Barbara wouldn't be here. Everything that was happening was his fault and he had to fix this before he croaked.

Which was probably soon. At this point he felt like he could fill a pool with all the blood he'd been losing. He shuddered and leaned against the wall and clenched his eyes shut, okay he needed a plan.

Anything.

Just something.

He needed to figure out where Barbara was. Dick stood there silently, okay so this place seemed to be huge and confusing and Crawford was the biggest idiot he'd ever had the luck to come across.

He probably had a blueprint of the place....Wait no that's not what he needed. Or maybe it was, Dick wasn't too sure right now everything seemed all jumbled up in his head. But anyways he probably had it written down somewhere and he hopefully kept it in his office.

All cliche villains had an office in their hideouts.

Where? Oh he didn't know...

Just keep walking till he finds a door. Maybe with his amazing luck he'd just come across it and he'll be able to find what he's looking for. If it even exists-

"Okay," He mumbled. He was just going to walk and hope He finds it.

His walk/stumbling around was actually uneventful and he was starting to just want to give up. All he found were empty rooms with either old tables and rusted car parts or locked rooms with screaming kids.

Well at least he knew where Crawford had some of the others and he'd definitely go and help them once he finds the office.  
Dick walked up to the last door In this hall and opened the door and he smiled when he saw a makeshift office. Thank god. Dick locked the door behind him and looked around, well it was a complete disaster and it smelt worse than Crawford did. He walked up to the desk and scowled at the mass amounts of papers, he sat down and started to go through them.

A lot of them were just random scribbles and small notes.

Kill any over 17  
Sell the ugly ones to labs  
Get Luna to buy more milk  
Burn down the manor  
Make more collars

Dick furrowed his brows, Alright that was awful.

So he was assuming he didn't like adults...and he sent their remains to be purchased on the black market. He sold undesirable victims to labs? He needed more milk, dog collars, and he was burning down a building.

Okay….

After finding nothing else but other useless lists, he turned to the computer. It took him less than a minute to get through the password and he just scanned through the files and emails. A lot of the files were just nonsense, like one was an email sent to some man named John Doe. An obvious fake name, and the email was only about a sale at a grocery store in Star City.

One Email that caught his eye was addressed to C&M.

He furrowed his brows, that was very familiar.

The brand mark. It's a C&M or well it was, he'd actually cut it all up with a razor not too long ago and Alfred had found out and yelled at him for a full hour...or well it wasn't actually yelling.

Alfred was concerned and he went and told Bruce and then it escalated and then it started an argument between him and Bruce. Dick didn't understand why they'd been so upset with him, he wasn't trying to really hurt himself. He just wanted the mark gone. Plus this was his body and absolutely no one could tell him what to do with it.

Dick took a deep breath and looked back at the email. Alright it was addressed to a man named C&M and he was assuming that meant something very important.

Was it the name of this sick Trafficking Ring?

If so that had to mean Crawford wasn't working alone.

He rubbed his temples and just stared at the computer. All the email said was, ‘Please, I need more time. There's been some complications.’

Dick read it over and over again, he needed more time? What for? To kill and torture more children? More time to sell their insides on the dark web?

Oh this irritated him greatly. This just made him have more questions. Who was this guy!? Dick was about to go through more emails but froze when a reply just came through.

Wonderful timing. Maybe he really was starting to have some better luck. He sat back and read the reply.

‘We will continue the operation despite your, 'complications’ and you will get the money to me next month. There is no more time and there's no more second chances, you will do what I say.  
-M’

So Crawford definitely didn't work alone. He was slightly surprised, Crawford never said anything about working with someone else. And Dick didn't think Crawford was the type of guy to let someone order him around. But then again Crawford was a complete and utter idiot.

Dick sighed and fished through the other emails, he was disgusted that he knew so much about Crawford...he'd rather not know the man at all. He hated even thinking about him and he'd love to put a bullet between his eyes.....

okay no that was too far. He had to stop thinking about that and making himself even angrier. He needed to focus on finding Babs and get her and as much of the others out. He didn't know how much longer he'd be able to do this because it was only a matter of time until Crawford noticed he did not stay put.

The mere thought of being caught again made him shudder. Dick tapped the table and bit his lip, once he found out where she was he needed to make a plan or at least have a few of them.

Hopefully Bruce would find this place soon...just in case he didn't get Babs out.

Bruce....

Dick sat up straight and ignored the searing pain that shot up his spine. No he had an idea! Emails....he could send Bruce an email! Bruce could trace it or something! He wouldn't even need to say anything, he could literally send a number or letter or a random phrase and he knew Bruce would be suspicious and investigate! Plus Crawford's Email was just his name...literally just DanielCrawford.

Dick quickly sent Bruce an email and all he said was ‘trace this.’ After that he continued to look around the computer and he scowled when he couldn't find any blueprints or anything!

"Dammit..." He took a deep breath and stared at the screen, his already awful headache worsening. He couldn't even find out if there was any security here, but he wasn't surprised.

His luck seemed to be running out.

"He's gone again, the brat is gone!"

Dick's eyes widened and he felt like he was going to faint. And He nearly did when he heard the door rattle, thank god he locked the door. But he was trapped. Dick quickly stood up and gripped the table when the room started to spin, the door was really rattling now and he could hear Crawford screaming for someone to help bust the door down. He knew he was in here.

His luck was definitely running out and quick.

Dick grabbed a chair and put it in front of the door. Okay that wouldn't do anything, so he put anything he was able to drag in front of the door. He groaned and leaned against the desk completely out of breath.

Okay what now!?

Oh god he didn't know what to do! He clenched his teeth and just threw his computer monitor onto the floor, cracking the screen. That would probably only make Crawford more upset but the disgusting pig could deal with it. So he threw everything else on the desk onto the floor and ended up shattering a picture frame.

Was this going to help him get out of this room? Not the slightest and this was only going to make this so much worse. And the door was starting to give up, Dick looked around and saw an open vent...that he'd never be able to climb into.

Uh what could he do.

He wasn't ready to face the consequences of his escape especially since he knew that Crawford wasn't going to let him out alive after this and he'd definitely lay his dirty hand on Barbara.

Dick started to pace and after the yelling in the hall got louder he went over to the vent but his attempt to climb up there failed miserably. Dick held back a small groan and clutched the stab wound. It was bleeding through the bandages now. Definitely not good, "Ugh," He leaned against the wall for a second to catch his breath. The door was only minutes away from being broken, thank god for the heavy duty doors and locks Crawford had here.

He stepped away from the wall and looked back up at the vent and he furrowed his brows when he noticed the bloody handprint he'd left behind on the wall.

Wait.

Dick grinned, he had an idea.

An absolutely god awful idea that was definitely going to hurt and backfire in every single way possible.

Trick Crawford.

Crawford knew he was badly injured and he'd be bleeding so maybe if he left a trail of blood up to the vent Crawford would assume he was in there and he'd go off and look for him.

Dick smeared his hand along the white brick wall and scowled, that wasn't enough and he didn't want to make the stab wound bleed even more.

"Someone get something heavy and bash the door, kicking the thing isn't helping!" Crawford screamed.

Okay think fast. Dick looked over by the desk and saw the broken glass from the picture frame. He quickly picked up a larger piece of the glass and without really thinking he sliced open his arm, he really should've thought that through because that HURT and he went away too deep. "Agh." That was a lot of blood, maybe more than he needed but whatever. He rushed over to the wall, leaving a small trail behind him and quickly made the trail up to the vent or as far as he was able.

What a mess.

Dick jumped in his skin when a crack was heard. Alright now he had to find a spot to hide...and the only option was underneath his desk. He took a deep breath and just as he got underneath the desk the door crashed open.

He was dead.

That idiotic plan was never going to work.

He was screwed.

Crawford was going to disembowel him.

Set his body on fire.

Mail it to Bruce.

Oh lord have mercy.

Dick clenched his eyes shut and held his breath, oh god oh god oh god.

Crawford wanted to murder that brat the second he saw his computer on the floor, cracked. And he wanted to scream when he saw his family picture smashed. "AGH!" He fell to his knees and picked up the ruined picture. It had drops of blood all over it. "It's ruined!" He stood up and turned to the men standing in the doorway and looked at the wall when one pointed to it.

Crawford slowly walked over to it, his fists clenched. "Find him. NOW!" He screamed, his voice cracking. "I want him found and brought to me!"

"Check the vents?" One asked.

"Yes you idiot!" Crawford snapped, "He's injured he couldn't have gotten too far. Throw a small brat in there or something, chase him out. Turn on the heat! I don't care!" The men just nodded and scurried away and Crawford took a deep breath and walked slowly around his desk.

Dick's eyes widened when he saw Crawford's feet just inches away.

Pleasedontlookdownheregothehellaway.

Crawford muttered a few curse words and walked away, he paused and turned back to his desk and slowly approached it. He bent over slowly and picked up the ruined picture.

Dick heard a small sniffle and then Crawford left the room.

He waited a minute before he could exhale. Dick rested the back of his head on the desk and groaned. Oh god he wanted to curl up and cry, he looked at his arm and immediately looked away. It was still bleeding.

Great, he was such a genius. Another other wound to add to the rapidly growing list.

How am I still alive????

Dick stood up and gripped the side of the desk, alright now he had to be really cautious in the hall since they were really looking for him now. Hopefully he wouldn't be seen but he really didn't think he'd be stealthy in this state.

He didn't even know how he was thinking straight right now. Uh okay maybe he really wasn't thinking straight, he felt like his thoughts were crooked and all over the place and his brain was leaking out of his ears.

He really must've hit his head way too hard.

Dick slowly peeked into the hallway and stepped out of the office when it was completely empty and all he could hear were the other kids screaming and banging on the doors. It was really distracting and it was really making it difficult to think.

Dick froze and looked at the doors, some of them just had latches on the outside. He could easily unlatch them and then open the doors....

Perfect distraction for Crawford and his men and he could find Barbara easier that way. (Maybe) Dick grinned and approached a door, his luck was coming back.

For how long? Probably only like five minutes.

Better use it while he can.

Dick quickly unlatched a door and it immediately was pushed open by the kids inside and one tripped and landed in the hall. She looked up at Dick and scrambled to her feet, other kids peeking out behind her.

"T-Thank you," She whispered.

Dick just nodded and watched her and the others run down the hall and he quickly started to unlock all doors that had latches. About four did and two didn't so he'd have to come back with something to pick the lock later.

The ones that were able to be freed all seemed grateful but....feral? He didn't know how to explain it but they were acting like literal animals and none of them looked like they'd been fed properly for months so Dick was assuming these poor kids had been locked up for weeks.

He felt awful for them and he only wished he could have helped them sooner.

Hell, he didn't even know if he was really saving them now. He was using them as a way to distract Crawford and that was really selfish. But he'd worry about his morals and how fucked up he was becoming later, he needed to find Barbara because if anything else happens to her...well he didn't want to think about that.

Dick kept walking down the hall ignoring the sounds of the kids causing chaos behind him. He'd think they'd be trying to escape but they seemed rather confused and were just running up and down the halls, hitting windows and screaming.

Yeah...Crawford's men would be really busy for a few hours.

Dick sighed and turned to the last door in this hall and unlatched the door but was surprised when the door wasn't immediately pushed open. Was no one in there? Dick slowly opened the door and looked into the room and he saw a small girl with black hair huddled in the corner crying while a redhead was pacing back and forth clutching her hand.

Dick's eyes widened, "Barbara!" He found her! He found her! She was alive! He just wanted to cry and hug her but he was covered in blood and was pretty gross right now so he wouldn't.

Barbara turned to the door and a large smile appeared on her pale face, "Dick!" She rushed to him and pulled him into a tight hug but quickly let go when he yelped. "S-Sorry."

Dick stepped back, "It's fine...it's fine. We gotta get you out of here. Now." As happy as he was to see her they couldn't stand around, he'd already wasted a lot of time and the escaped kids could only distract Crawford for so long.

Barbara nodded and turned to the girl in the corner, "Evelyn stop crying. We're getting out of here," She said walking up to her.

Evelyn looked up and stood up and she sniffled and she just silently followed Dick and Barbara down the hall. "So what's the plan?" Barbara asked, "There is one right?"

Dick just kept walking and opened a door that led to a staircase, "No plan," He replied rushing down the stairs. "Crawford's dumbass left me alone in an unlocked room. The whole escaping thing just happened." He clutched the railing ignoring the shooting pain in his side. Hopefully they'd get to the bottom floor soon, he didn't know how much farther he'd be able to go.

Barbara grabbed Evelyn's wrist and forced her to move quicker, "Well thank god for that," She replied, "I was starting to think we were doomed." She still felt like they were but positive thoughts!

"We really are," Evelyn mumbled.

"Shut up," Barbara hissed.

Dick sighed and opened the door that led to another hall, "Hurry." This was the part of the building that had all the windows and doors, he'd made it this far before but he was hoping this wouldn't be a repeat of the last time.

Barbara dragged Evelyn in and sighed a breath of relief when Dick shut and latch the door shut behind them, they were in a closed off room. It seemed to have been a staff room or something and it had a few tables and old fold up chairs In it...and best yet windows and a door!

How Dick managed to pull this off was honestly a miracle!

Barbara walked up to one of the windows and used her hand to wipe it off and she peered outside. They were in the middle of a forest and it was snowing out, oh boy. She turned and looked at Dick and scowled, "It's snowing." They didn't have coats and Dick was barefoot and bloody and he looked like he was about to pass out. Not good. "Going out there isn't smart."

Dick cursed under his breath and bit his lip. He knew he was in no condition to be out there, he was only in a shirt and sweatpants. He'd freeze or pass out. "Fuck." Why couldn't the snow hold off!? Why couldn't it just rain like it always fucking did!? He was fucking screwed, he pissed Crawford off, unleashed chaos in this building and now he didn't have a chance of escape.

"What do we do now!?" Barbara sat down and took a deep breath. God dammit she really shouldn't have gotten her hopes up, "We're dead."

"Told you so," Evelyn muttered.

"Shut up!" Barbara hissed throwing a piece of trash at her. "Just stay quiet!" Evelyn just stayed still and shook her head. Barbara wanted to strangle her but Evelyn probably wasn't in the right state of mind...deep breaths. 

"You and Evelyn would probably be able to get help. You both have shoes," Dick said, frowning. "Both stand more of a chance out there than I do." He scowled.

"Dick!" Barbara stood up and looked at him bewildered, "He's going to kill you!" She cried out. She couldn't just leave her best friend for death here! That was awful!

Dick shook his head, "That doesn't matter right now. If you get out of here you can go and get help and lead the police here!" He looked at the door and sighed, "Do you have a hair pin?" He asked.

"No! Dick I'm not leaving without you!"

"Barbara just listen to me!" Dick hissed, he didn't want to argue right now.

Barbara clenched her fists and took a deep breath, and she pulled a hairpin out of her hair. Thank god she hadn't finished getting ready for bed when that blonde bitch kidnapped her or she wouldn't have a hair pin right now.

"Thank you," Dick muttered, taking the pin from her. He then turned to the door and started to pick the lock, his hands trembling.

Evelyn stood next to the door near the staircase silently while she watched them try and unlock the door that led outside. She was about to sit down but her blood ran cold when she heard footsteps above them and voices shouting. "G-Guys....?" She called out nervously, "G-Guys?"

Barbara looked at her and scowled, "What?"

Evelyn bit her lip when she heard a group of people coming down the stairs, their voices getting louder. "They're coming!" She cried out moving away from the door, "They're going to find us!" She said, starting to panic.

Dick took a deep breath his hands starting to shake, "The door's locked," He muttered quietly trying to focus on unlocking this fucking stupid ass door. "That'll buy me a little more time, just relax."

Barbara tapped her foot and Evelyn stood next to her, her entire body trembling. Just the mere thought of Crawford catching them made her want to pee herself and dig a hole and die, that man was a monster! And absolutely disgusting.

No she wouldn't because Crawford was going to get in here and kill her for trying to escape even when she knew it was impossible and she should have stayed put and just waited this out or- "Got it." Evelyn's eyes snapped open and she looked at Dick who pushed the door open, cold air flooding the room.

"Now go get help, please!" Dick said standing back.

Evelyn took this as her chance and she bolted out the door nearly tripping in the snow. Every man for themselves right now! She didn't even bother to thank him, she'd do that later when she got help and got to go home and was safe.

Barbara watched her run off like a complete fool and turned to Dick, "I'm not leav-" She started to say but was cut off when there was a banging on the door.

"Yes you are, go!" Dick pushed her out, "Get help! I'll be fine!" No he really wouldn't be fine, he was dead. And he really wanted to punch himself for not noticing it was snowing earlier, hell the office had a fucking window! Why didn't he look!

"No you won't, I can't leave you!"

"GO!" He yelled, "Please!" They didn't have long until the door was kicked in, "Please Babs I'm begging you! Please, Please! I'll be fine and when you get help- after all this shit is over I'll explain everything!" He paused and looked back, the door cracking and he could hear Crawford's men yelling that they'd found who they were looking for. "I promise you!" He honestly didn’t even know if he’d make it out of this alive but at this point he didn’t care, he was alright with dying if it meant Babs would be okay. 

Barbara looked at him wide eyed and was about to say something but the door was kicked open, "GO!" Dick screamed.

Barbara held back tears and she sprinted into the forest as fast as she could, the sound of screaming men urging her to push herself to her limits.

She had to get help.

She had to make it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh, Dick really can't win can he? 
> 
> I'd say things will eventually get better but I don't enjoy writing happy endings, I enjoy leaving people hanging. Anyways hope this was a satisfactory chapter! I'm hoping to have this story completely edited and posted by the end of this month so expect a lot of updates!
> 
> ~Kat


	13. Chapter 13

"We can't stay here, Father." Luna frowned as she watched Crawford pace back and forth. "Nearly half of the brats escaped into the woods and it's only a matter of time till they get to a road and-"

Crawford shot Luna a murderous glare that shut her up immediately. "We will be moving to another building," He muttered angrily, "Don't need to tell me."

"Well I'm sorry I'm looking out for you," She replied scowling. This was such a disaster thanks a lot Grayson.

Crawford exhaled and mumbled something under his breath, he was having a hard time controlling himself right now. He wanted to kill someone, he wanted to kill the brat responsible for this mess.

Grayson, that brat was nothing but trouble. He was the most rebellious brat he'd ever laid his eyes upon, and he wished he'd never messed with him and the Bat.

God dammit what was he going to do.

He was pretty sure Grayson escaped along with the red head.

"Any idea if they caught him?" Luna asked.

Crawford shook his head, "No."

That brat was lucky he got away because Crawford would have made him sorry. He was planning on killing him slowly and painfully, dragging his death out as long as he could.

Days, weeks who knew?

God he wanted to shove a knife where the sun didn't shine and watch him scream. He wanted to laugh at his misery and make him regret everything!

"I'm going to kill him," He growled. "I'm going to kill him I swear!" Crawford yelled.

"No balls," Luna said, shrugging. "How many times have you said you were going to kill him? Dozens! And how many times have you gone with your word?" She asked, crossing her arms, "Zero."

Crawford looked at her and he seemed to want to say something but he just exhaled. He had the balls, he could kill that brat. He killed plenty of brats so why was Grayson any different? He clearly wasn't the one he was looking for, sure he had an identical appearance to a very dear past pet...but he was definitely a whole different person.

Luna yawned, "What's so important about Grayson?" She asked. "Like If you hate him so much why do you keep going after him and the other brats?" He'd been going through so much trouble to get and keep Grayson and the same with all the other rich brats with blue eyes and black hair.

"Get the men to round up the brats we managed to find, get the duffel bag and shove anything important into it. We have to get out of here before it's too late," He said quickly, completely ignoring Luna's question.

"Wait!" She said quickly, "I have a question."

Crawford shot her a glare, "Do what I said Luna!"

She grumbled something under her breath and walked into the hall to the makeshift storage room they had.

She never got any answers.

Crawford sighed when he was alone and put his head in his hands, what have I done? Why did he let Grayson live, why did he mess with the bats kid!? Oh god he didn't want to explain this to the boss.

"Mr. Crawford!"

Crawford scowled and turned to the doorway and his eyes widened when he saw two of his men with Grayson. The kid looked way out of it and he seemed like he was relying on the goons to stand right now. "Y-You found him!?" He felt a flood of relief, but then anger. The brat that ruined everything was right there.

He could kill him.

Slowly.

"The redhead and the other girl with her escaped into the forest, we have some men out there chasing after them. Don't know how well it's going though," One of the goons said.

Crawford clenched his fists and forced himself to look out the window. The longer he looked at the boy the more he wanted to snap, "Did you catch any more of the brats?" Crawford asked.

The goon took a deep breath and dug his nails into the boys wrist, "No. This is the only one we caught, not sure about the others."

Crawford exhaled, "Forget about the remaining brats, start grabbing the drugs and anything else of importance. We need to get out of here."

The goon nodded, "What do you-"

"Grayson will stay here with me, we have much to discuss before we leave," Crawford said, turning back to face them. "Now go, all of you and do what I said." The goons nodded and just pushed Dick over to Crawford and they quickly left, slamming the door behind them.  
Dick didn't know how he was still standing, his legs were shaking and he was on the verge of just collapsing. Dick clenched his eyes shut when Crawford walked closer to him, everything in him screamed to just run now. But he knew that wasn't going to end well.

Hell he could barely stand.

Might as well just take this, not like he could stop this. Maybe this could be a distraction? The league would be here soon enough right!? They couldn't completely forget about him, they'd be here. They'd help him, he knew it. Artemis and Wally would show up and he'd know that they were alright and Bruce would kick the shit out of Crawford.

He'd be saved.

"You made a big mistake, Pretty Boy," Crawford growled, striking him in the face. Dick yelped and fell to the floor and clutched the side of his face, his body trembling.

Crawford smiled, "But don't worry Pretty Boy, You'll be able to apologize." He then sighed and checked his watch, "Not now though. We've got to get out of here." He grabbed Dick by his hair and started to drag him.

"W-Wait!" Dick yelled, yanking himself free. He couldn't leave; he had to stall them. "No!" He couldn't let him leave, they had to stay here. The league had to get here and get him out; he needed them!

Please please Bruce, you had to have seen that email. He had to know where he was, he was Batman, he knew everything! He'd save him, he always did, nothing stopped him. Dick tried to scramble to his feet and get away from Crawford but his legs just didn't want to move. Which he should have expected, he only likes lost buckets of blood or something.

Crawford scoffed and grabbed his ear and forced him into the hall. "You don't tell me what to do. You listen to me, say another word and I won't feed you. You'll starve!"

Dick tried everything in his power to get out of Crawford's grip, but everything was spinning and he felt like vomiting. Crawford scowled and pushed him into a wall, "Brat." He grabbed him by his hair and slammed his head against the wall and he went limp. "Finally." Crawford picked Dick up and just put him over his shoulder and rushed to the exit where a car was waiting.

When he got to his next safe house he was going to make this brat sorry.

****

Her throat was on fire, her legs ached and she couldn't feel her toes anymore. This was absolutely awful, she never thought she'd find herself in this situation before. Running in the snow through an unfamiliar part of wherever the heck she was and running for her life.

She could distantly hear men screaming and trying to catch up with her and Evelyn. Dick had managed to distract them for a minute before they chased her out and she was forever grateful for his sacrifice. Or well if you could even call what he did one, he honestly didn't seem to really know what he was doing. So she really wasn't running for her own life but for his as well.

Barbara knew if she didn't get to that road as soon as possible then Dick would die. He looked god awful, covered in blood and bruises and he looked like he hadn't eaten in days.

After what felt like hours she started to slow down, she leaned against a tree and closed her eyes and tried to catch her breath. She'd never ran this much in her entire life! And she didn't even think she was done yet, she still couldn't find the road. There had to be one around here, didn't Dick mention one?

"Ugh," Barbara shivered and rubbed her hands together and started to walk now, stepping over branches and holes. This was nearly impossible to navigate with the snow covering the ground; she didn't know how she managed to run without tripping more than once.

She'd tripped a few seconds after she first got out the door but after that she was fine. Her teeth chattered and she looked behind her, the woods was now completely silent other than the ice dripping from the tree branches and her labored breathing. It was eerie and it made her uncomfortable she felt as if someone would jump out and murder her right here and now.

She almost wished Evelyn was with her, as much as she hated her she was still better than nothing. Hey...where was she anyways? She'd run off not even a minute before her, so she should be around here somewhere unless she went a different direction?

Yikes

Oh well, she couldn't waste any time standing around because the risk of Crawford's men still out here was a huge risk. Barbara forced herself to continue walking and she made sure to stay alert for the sounds of cars or a road.

Barbara froze when she swore she heard a snap a little ways behind her and she quickly started to walk in the opposite direction. Snow was lovely but right now it was giving away her location and she'd never be able to hide because of her footprints. She bit her lip when she heard voices a ways behind her and she started to run again.

"HELP!"

Barbara's eyes widened when she heard a female's scream and it was right behind her, she turned back and she gasped when she saw the distant figure of a girl running and two other larger figures chasing behind her.

Barbara quickly turned around and ran as fast as her legs would go, jumping over logs and branches and she nearly tripped into a small creek. But she kept going, she ducked underneath a fallen tree and she could feel the branches scratching against her cheek and getting tangled in her hair.

She looked around and saw a hollow tree trunk and she dashed over to it and crawled inside, her heart hammering in her chest. She crawled further in and grabbed a nearby branch and covered the hole. Okay, you're hidden. They're idiots they won't find you. Plus they can't fit.

Barbara took deep and slow breaths and looked out through a small hole and waited. Not even seconds later the girl rushed past her and fell when her foot got caught on a tree root and she fell to the ground and screamed when she tried to stand up. Her ankle, she must have sprained it.

Barbara held her breath. It was Evelyn, how did she get so far behind?? Did she go a different direction?? Barbara moved to get out of the fallen trunk and froze when two of Crawford's Goons dashed up to her and they pointed a gun at her. "Didn't Get too far did ya?" The goon sneered.

Evelyn said something but Barbara couldn't hear It clearly, Evelyn tried to get up again and make a mad dash for it but she yelped and clutched her ankle. "P-Please don't bring me back to him!" Evelyn begged getting into her knees. "Y-You don't understand!"

The Goon holding the gun just laughed and it made Barbara's blood boil. How could he just stand there and laugh and drag Evelyn back to a perverted monster!? She clenched her jaw and stayed silent. As much as she wanted to go out there and help Evelyn she knew she couldn't, she'd just end up getting shot or brought back to Crawford and she didn't want that. He already ripped a fingernail off and smashed her hand with a hammer and it hurt like hell. And she knew if she didn't get help ASAP her hand could possibly be ruined and Dick would die and Crawford would get away.

Evelyn shrieked when the goon without the gun grabbed her by her arm and started to drag her back towards the building. Evelyn broke her arm free and elbowed him in the gut as hard as she could and stumbled away. "Gah!" The goon dashed after her and Barbara jumped and clenched her eyes when she heard a single gunshot then everything was silent.

Barbara slowly opened her eyes and covered her mouth with her bandaged hand when she saw Evelyn just standing there, a hand pressed against her shoulder, she seemed stunned for a second. She slowly removed her hand and her lip quivered when it was drenched in blood, "I-I," She stuttered. She then started to scream uncontrollably and fell to her knees and pressed her hand against her shoulder again.

The goon with the gun looked at her and sighed. "Pick her up, we gotta get her back quickly." The other goon nodded and picked her up and put her over his shoulder and they started to walk away, leaving a small trail of blood behind them in the snow.

Oh god. 

****

He normally hated going through his emails, nothing good ever came out of it. Just meetings and everything he really didn't enjoy doing. And since he'd been out for the majority of the week he had Alfred going through them for him.

Bruce didn't think much of it since he was so busy. Busy trying to find his son, busy trying to find Daniel Crawford....god he wanted to break every single bone in that man's body.

Bruce paced back and forth in the batcave. Why was this trafficking ring so hard to stop? Kids were still going missing and now there was an outbreak of Scopolamine sales in Gotham.

Bruce ran a hand through his hair and looked at his cowl. Another sleepless night full of hunting down anyone with possible leads on Crawford's whereabouts.

"Master Bruce!"

Bruce turned around and frowned when he saw a very worried Alfred rushing over to him. "Master Bruce I found a very worrying email," He said.

Bruce furrowed his brows, was it from Lex? "Who sent it?" He asked as he watched Alfred pull his emails up on the Batcomputer.

"That's what's worrying, it's from Daniel Crawford."

Bruce felt his blood turn cold and he clenched his fists and looked up at the computer screen.

Sure enough it was from Daniel Crawford and all it said was "Trace this."

"It was sent about twenty five minutes ago I believe," Alfred said looking at Bruce.

"Trace this and send it to me, I'm going to the watchtower," He said, grabbing his cowl.

He was going to end that man. 

*****

Disgusting.

Absolutely disgusting.

Gotham city had some incredibly fucked up places and absolutely gruesome events but never in his entire life had he been so disturbed. After Alfred had traced the email to an old abandoned car factory from the 50s that was later turned into an old poor house in the 70s then later condemned in the late 90s, Bruce had rushed to the watchtower and within 15 minutes they'd found the location.

"We've caught at least ten of what I assume are Crawford's men," Superman said quietly, a grim expression on his face. The normally happy hero seemed shaken up.

Batman took a deep breath, Superman and Flash got here about ten minutes before he had. "Don't contact the police, not yet." Batman pushed past him and walked down a badly lit hall, the floor covered in with years of grime and dirt and what seemed to be rat or mice droppings. The walls were all brick but the paint over it had been chipping off. The place stunk. Batman kicked open doors that revealed empty rooms that either contained old filthy blankets, buckets filled with who knows what. And he found a room filled with clothing of very young children.

Batman scowled and turned down another hall, this hall was slightly cleaner and he could make out the white tile floor, but he noticed what seemed to be a small trail of blood leading down the hall and it stopped in front of a broken door. It seemed to have been kicked in or something.

Batman easily moved the door out of the way, it had been kicked clean off of the rusted hinges. Inside was a disaster, Batman walked in and looked around. It had been an office but it seemed to have been trashed. The floor was littered with glass and pictures were thrown about, the computer chair was shoved near the doorway as well as other small furniture. It's liked someone had barricaded the room.

Batman walked up to the desk, carefully avoiding stepping on any evidence. The computer monitor was smashed and on the ground and folders and paper was scattered about. He knelt down when he noticed a small broken picture frame with a bloody fingerprint. He didn't pick it up but he did see Crawford was in it and a young female who seemed to either be in her late twenties or early thirties. She had long curly black hair, blue eyes and she didn't smile. And there was another person in the middle of them but their face was covered by a bloody fingerprint.

Were these Crawford's kids? He didn't recall hearing about him having a family. He frowned and noticed a trail of blood leading under the desk and his frown only grew when he saw the blood smeared up the wall leading to the open air vent.

He quickly collected a sample of the blood and sent it to Alfred. He already had an idea on whose blood it was.

It was Dicks, he'd sent the email and probably hid here. He didn't know how long he'd been here or if he was injured in here, but he knew it was Dicks and he knew this was bad. If he was seriously hurt and they still couldn't find him it meant either he fled and got out into the woods...or Crawford had caught him. And since Crawford wasn't here that meant Dick wasn't either.

"I found another hall downstairs," Flash said walking in. "There's nothing but crates of drugs downstairs and I've found two deceased people, don't know their age. But it smells like they've been down there for awhile." Flash looked pissed, "That sicko is going to pay for what he did," He said scowling.

"When the rest of the league returns I want them looking for any leads possible. Daniel can be anywhere," Batman growled.

Flash nodded, he had been hoping Crawford was here. He wanted to punch his face in for what his men did to Wally. "He's a bastard." He looked around the office and he only got angrier when he saw all the blood.

Batman stayed silent and he brushed past Flash and walked into the hall, "Find Superman and tell him to go through the forest." He was going through the basement and then he was going to have a little chat with the men they caught.

Flash just nodded. Normally he'd poke fun at Batman, because of his angry demeanor and just irritate him. But he was just as angry as he was, that sick man shot Wally in the knee and dislocated Artemis's arm. And god only knew what Dick was going through.

God, Flash wished he knew about this place earlier because he'd be here in seconds and maybe he would have been able to stop him.

The hall in the basement was revolting, the walls were covered in mold, and the floor had what looked like human feces all over the place and the hall stunk like death. So it only took Batman seconds to find the two bodies the flash had come across.

They were in a pile, in the corner of a small room with two fold out tables in it and the table was covered in dry blood. He knelt down by the bodies and noticed their chests were exposed and they seemed to be gutted.

Both females, late teens, major organs seem to be missing.

This must be what happens to the victims when they aren't useful alive. Batman felt his blood boil, he hated Daniel Crawford more than words could explain. Just the mere thought of what he could be doing to his son...

That made him want to break his no kill rule and slowly end that despicable man.

Daniel better pray it's the police that find him first because the second he sees that man's face he will make him pay. Pay for all the lives he's ruined and all the lives he's ended. The fact he could just discard someone's body like this it was sickening. 

"Batman!" The Flash appeared in the doorway, his eyes wide. "Superman had already heard what you'd said about searching the forest," He said quickly. 

Not surprising.

"He found at least ten kids scattered around." He moved out of Batman's way when he was already rushing out of the hall and up the stairs, "He contacted the Police department so we can get EMTs, a lot of the kids seem to have hypothermia and they're all in incredibly rough shape."

Batman just nodded and quickly made his way outside and rushed to where Superman stood, kids clinging onto him crying and shivering. They were all incredibly underweight and were covered in their own filth but one stood out in particular, she was talking at lighting speed to Superman and she was a redhead someone Crawford wouldn't normally target. Superman turned and noticed Batman, "I-" He started to say but was cut off when the red head rushed to Batman.

"H-He's got Dick still!" She cried out, "A-And I have no idea w-what or why!" She paused and let out a frustrated growl and threw a weak punch at Batman with her good hand. "Why didn't you tell me!?"

It took Batman a second to realize who this was, Barbara Gordon? "Because of...of this stupid fucking secret and someone being involved with the league o-or you being Batman..." Barbara clutched her hand, her teeth chattering. "You're going to tell me what is going on when we get out of here," She growled. "Or so help me God!"

While he did know every form of martial arts and was the world's greatest detective there was one thing he was NOT trained in. How to deal with hysterical and pissed off teenage girls.

******

Every inch of his body ached.

His head was throbbing.

Opening his eyes hurt like hell.

And he was freezing.

Didn't help he had absolutely no idea where the flying fuck he was. It was pitch dark so he couldn't make out anything, he tried to stand up but his limbs ached. Sure being achy and tired was a pathetic excuse for not trying to stand but after all the shit that's happened in the last week? Few days? Well he figured he could be a weak coward for a little.

Dick cracked open his eyes and clutched his head when his head started to throb. He couldn't remember how he got here or what even led up to this, he knew he probably pissed Crawford off pretty badly. Dick rubbed the side of his head and flinched and clenched his teeth, okay he hit his head pretty badly. He probably had a concussion or something.

Dick clenched his eyes shut and shivered, he felt like he'd been shoved in a tiny closet and left for dead. He couldn't lay straight down because his foot would hit the wall so now that he really thought about it he'd probably been shoved in a closet.

Nice.

He exhaled and winced when that hurt too.

Alright well he was going to starve in here and his body would be left to rot. He'd be bug food and no one would ever find him, he was fucking doomed. There was no way he was getting out of this now he really fucked up. Whatever he did had to have been bad and he really wished he'd just listen and maybe Crawford would get bored with him and just shoot him.

Then his body would be left to rot and he'd never be found and he'd be alone of an eternity.

He was going to die.

He was going to die alone.

Awful to think about actually and it really made him feel like crying.

He was dying alone and no one was looking for him. Artemis and Wally had abandoned him and the league probably gave up looking for him, he'd been forgotten about. He was dying and he was going to fucking rot and bugs would crawl in and out of his eye sockets and eat his insides and then maybe someone would find his body and toss him outside and burry him in a shallow grave in the middle of a forest where an animal will dig him up and chew on his bones until he's scattered about and Bruce would never find him and he'd be replacing him with someone who was better and not stupid enough to get in a awful situation like this and-

Dick let out a frustrated scream and covered his face with his arms, his entire body shaking. He wished he could just press a button that would turn off his thoughts. He wished he could just stop thinking and sit here in complete silence. He wished he could stop thinking he wanted to turn his brain off. He didn't want to think anymore.

He was so confused.

Where was he?

Why did his head hurt?

Why couldn't he stop thinking?

Why did he hurt so much worse now!? He bit back a pained hiss and he shifted slightly, all he could smell was blood. And all he could feel was this god awful throbbing in both his head and his lower back, he felt as if he'd gotten the shit beat out of him. He attempted to put most of his weight on his rear but as soon as he did a searing pain shot up his back.

Was he bleeding? He pressed his hand up against where the stab wound was, it didn't feel like it was bleeding. He took a deep breath, ignoring how much that hurt. He was starting to get a slight idea on where he could possibly be bleeding but he didn't know if he wanted to be right. After a moment of sitting there trying to figure out whether or not he wanted to know if he was bleeding down there he just cursed under his breath. Well if he was going to bleed to death down there he'd rather be aware of that. Or maybe not!? He didn't need to see it to know he was. 

How was he even bleeding down there!? What the hell did Crawford do!? He wasn't even that...well he wasn't big enough to cause this much bleeding! 

Oh God he felt like he was going to fucking lose his mind and claw out his eyes and bleed all over the place and die alone and no one would care.

Why couldn't he be shot in the head? Why couldn't Crawford just leave him alone!? Just let him go, he'd never say anything. He'd disappear and get a new name and he'd never say a thing he would forget everything that happened and Crawford could get away and live on with his life and do whatever the fuck he wanted.

He was done with this. So what Crawford was probably ruining other peoples lives and he was making them feel disgusting and alone as well. But why should he care? Why should he be worried about people who he didn't know? They wouldn't help him so why should he help them? Why should he get himself in more trouble to help people who wouldn't fucking care about him or help him!? He didn't know why he did this!

That's selfish.

Who cared? Who mattered more? Clearly he did! He should care about himself, he was all he had. Just him. No one else would care about him, they wouldn't sacrifice themselves for him? Did Artemis help him?

Sure he probably told her to go and get help and maybe she tried. He didn't know what the fuck she did because he was busy getting his ass beat and he was busy being tortured so what would he know?

Maybe she did care about him but Crawford killed her. Maybe he sliced open her chest and took out her insides and sold them on the internet? What if he caught her and kept her alive and sold her to some other sicko? He didn't know that. And should he care? Probably but he wouldn't because that didn't matter.

He couldn't save her and she couldn't save him.

So why should he care? He didn't know what happened to her.

Wally probably ran off and tripped like the fucking clutz he could be because he tended to run and not look where he was going. Maybe he tripped and someone caught him and put a knife through his heart or maybe shot him right between the eyes and let him bleed out on the ground.

Maybe that's what happened and now the league was so upset about what happened to them and they blamed him? If he hadn't gotten himself caught and they wouldn't have been murdered or hurt.

Dick forced himself to take a deep breath and he bit back a sob.

Don't hold it in, what's the point? You're the weakest little fucking fool known to man.

He was weak.

So he was going to sit here and cry and be a pathetic piece of shit. He was a disgusting fucking piece of shit that should be killed and thrown in a trash bag and burnt to ash.

Dick sobbed and hit the back of his head against the wall and kicked the wall and ignored how much that hurt.

useless.

disgusting.

just fucking die.

shoot yourself.

just do it what's the point?

Shut up shut up shut up

Why was he thinking like this!? What was wrong with him!? His parents would be disgusted if they knew how he was ending up!

STOP

Think rationally.

Don't think like this.

He was going to drive himself to the brink of insanity! Fuck he was probably already there!

No, he could think straight. Artemis wasn't dead nor was Wally, he wasn't forgotten about and he wouldn't be selfish.

He wasn't a piece of shit. He wasn't disgusting and he wasn't going to rot. He was going to figure out what happened and how he got here. He was going to do this, he was going to get through this.

Dick shivered when he felt some water drip on his head.

Wait? What?

Dick slowly sat up straight and ignored how much that hurt his rear. The walls felt like some cheap wood paneling and the floor was a rough concrete which was incredibly uncomfortable. Was he in a closet? That's what he figured but where? Was this a basement closet? That could explain why he was so cold.

Or maybe because he had no clothes because those were gone when he woke up. Nice he was surprised he just noticed. Wow he really must've hit his head fucking hard because he was a fucking idiot. Dick shivered and slowly stood up but immediately fell roughly on his rear and he yelped in pain. His legs weren't very stable right now, must be from the blood he'd lost.

He didn't know if he was still bleeding but he was pretty sure he just scraped his butt on the concrete and it really hurt. He could smell blood but that was probably what he smelt like. He curled back up in the small corner, his teeth chattering. He felt like just keeping his eyes open drained all of his energy. Dick clenched his eyes shut and pulled his knees to his chest.

He really hoped all his thoughts he'd been having was just him being insane and he really hoped no one forgot about him.

“Lord have mercy,” He whimpered quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> I'm hoping to have this book completely posted in the next two weeks to expect a ton of updates. 
> 
> ~Kat


	14. Chapter 14

He had no idea how long he’d been in here, it was a blur, he was in and out of a restless sleep and honestly unsure about what was even going on, but one thing was for sure, he hated this small closet. Dick shivered and pulled a thin blanket around himself and rested his head against the wall again and tried to fall back asleep but he scowled when he felt like someone had their hands wrapped around his throat. He slowly sat up straight and went to scratch his neck but he froze and opened his eyes when he felt something furrowed his brows when he started to fully wake up.

He sat there clutching the blanket with one hand and his other hand touching his neck.

It was that blasted collar again.

He groaned and hit his head against the wall. He knew he'd been asleep for awhile but he didn't know exactly how long. All he knew was Crawford had returned and probably drugged him with something because he wasn't as sore and he could feel some bandages wrapped around his arm that he hurt and his stab wound had been treated because he couldn't feel it anymore. A part of him wished he was awake when that happened but another part of him was thankful. He didn't want to even look at Crawford or anyone else here so that awful man could keep drugging him, he didn't care.

He closed his eyes again. How hasn't he starved by now? Did he eat and drink something? Maybe he had because his stomach really hurt right now but not in the hungry kind of way. He frowned and shifted uncomfortably and opened his eyes again when he felt something around his right ankle.

Oh for the love of god.

He brought his leg closer and sighed when he felt what seemed to be a shackle around his ankle. Why did Crawford even bother? He wasn't going anywhere. He felt around and tugged on the chain and furrowed his brows when he heard what sounded like the wall creak and he could see a small line of light shining underneath what seemed to be a crack. He slowly scooted closer ignoring how awful that felt because of the concrete and he peered underneath it. He could see what looked like the leg of a fold up table and a chair and some boxes.

This must be the door he was looking underneath. Dick pulled at the chain again and he felt it snag on something and the chair creaked and fell over. So the chain seemed kinda long and it had to be attached to something out there.

He was about to go back to the corner but he heard a door open and some heavy footsteps and he jumped back and hit his back against the wall when the door was kicked. The footsteps then walked away and the lights had been turned off and the door was slammed shut.

Dick moved back to the door and pushed against it and it moved slightly but wouldn't open. It felt weak so he moved back again and used his foot to push against it as hard as he could. He clenched his teeth and kicked at it when he heard a small crack.

After what felt like hours Dick gave up and closed his eyes. He just wanted out of here, he felt so uncomfortable in here. It smelt damp and moldy and gross and it burnt his nose. It was cold and he felt like he'd scraped his legs and rear raw from the rough concrete floor. He let out a frustrated growl and kicked the door again and his eyes widened when he heard the door crack and it opened. Dick froze and stayed where he was his leg still outstretched from kicking it.

After sitting there like a deer in headlights he slowly crawled out of the closet and sat down. Okay he didn't think he could go anywhere from here and it stunk even more in here. Dick snatched the thin blanket from the closet and used it to cover himself and he slowly stood up, his legs shaking. And after a second of trying to keep his balance he slowly walked to the light switch and turned it in and squinted when the lights hurt his eyes.

The room was small and the walls were a ugly wood paneling and the floor was a dark green carpet that felt gross and stunk like mold. The ceiling was badly damaged from water and so was the wall, Dick sighed and walked to the table and picked up a folder that was on it. He opened it, his hands shaking. Oh it was just a list of people. None of the names he recognized but he was assuming these were more targets. He put the folder down and turned the lights off and shuffled back to the closet. He then closed the door and sat down in the corner and rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes. There wasn't anything out there that would be of use to him and there was no way he'd even think about escaping. He was chained to this room, where the hell was he going to go!?

Dick shivered and decided he'd rather just sleep. He didn't see a point in getting himself in more trouble.

At least it was quie-

Dick jumped when he heard the door slam open and the lights flicked on, "You've lost half a million in the last day!" An unfamiliar voice growled. There was a bang and he heard someone hit the wall and grunt.

"I lost the money!? You have no fucking idea what happened!" Crawford yelled, his voice getting all high pitched and squeaky. "The brats went mental! We couldn't catch them all before the league arrived!"

Dick paled and clenched his eyes shut and stayed silent. The brats went mental? He was assuming he had something to do with it but he didn't remember how or what Crawford actually meant. But what really had his heart hammering in his chest was not that he was probably in a world of hurt but the League had been at the old building. Why didn't they save him?

Did they want him to die and rot? Because he could totally do that! Dick just shook his head and shivered, no Crawford escaped and he had to go with him....

God why was he being so pessimistic?

Did he want to rot? Maybe, he didn't really know what he wanted right now. A part of him didn't want to be saved because he didn't know if he could go through the embarrassment of his own failure and how this really was his fault. He just wanted to escape and go to a different country or something. Maybe he'd go to Italy?

No, he'd probably become an alcoholic and do drugs. Wasn't that what happened to people after they went through tragic events?

….no they dressed as bats.

Dick took a deep breath and decided he'd turn his attention back to the angry conversation going on outside.

"I told you that keeping that kid around was only going to ruin us more, Daniel!" The unfamiliar voice responded, "Quit using him for your useless hobby and just sell him dead!"

Crawford scoffed, "I'm not selling him!"

"He doesn't belong to you!"

Crawford let out a frustrated scream and there was a loud crashing, "Well he doesn't belong to you either!"

Dick just shook his head, actually he didn't belong to anyone. What did they think he was? Cattle you could just sell and butcher when he has no use?

Yes....yes actually. He was just that to them. 

"Daniel, get this through your thick pathetic skull. None of these brats belong to you unless you pay for them. Until then they do belong to me," The man hissed, "Give me the money you owe me and pay for Grayson in full then I'll give him to you and you are no longer required to run this."

"I-"

"Shut up Daniel, do we have a deal?"

Crawford was silent for a second, "Yes."

The man clapped, "Very nice. Now where did Myers go? Is she missing as well?"

"No my men caught her but she was shot in the shoulder."

The man sighed loudly, "Good job Daniel. You've brought down her value."

"I'll buy her."

"Give me the money for her then."

The two men then left and the door was slammed shut. 

Dick just sat there.

He'd much rather be killed and have his organs sold on the deep web. That sounded better than being with Crawford for the rest of his life, just thinking about the man made his skin crawl.

Dick closed his eyes and struggled to get somewhat comfortable.

Well instead of sitting here in misery he was going to attempt to sleep and ignore all his problems. That's all he had to do at the second and he didn't feel like trying anything.

Honestly he couldn't decide what he wanted to do.

Try and escape now? Wait? Give up?

Ugh.

*****

Evelyn shrieked and grabbed onto a doorway and held on as tightly as she could but her grip gave up. "No! No!" She kicked at Crawford when he grabbed her leg and just started to drag her down the small basement hall. He roughly kicked open a door and shoved her in a small room. Was he going to kill her!? He had to! Evelyn scooted away from him and clutched her shoulder. It had been wrapped but the goons hadn't done a very good job. "Please don't hurt me." She looked up at him wide eyed.

Crawford just scoffed, opened the closet and grabbed her by her arm and shoved her inside and slammed the door shut and left.

Evelyn yelled when she landed roughly on her rear and she clutched the shoulder that had been shot. "Ow! Dammit!" She wished she had clothes, she hated being exposed. She curled up her teeth chattering and she looked around waiting for her eyes to adjust. Her eyes widened when she saw what seemed like a person in front of her.

Oh god was that a dead body!?

Evelyn slowly moved closer to the dead person, unable to make out who or if it was even a person. She slowly moved her good arm and poked it and she shrieked when the person jumped and they both sat there staring at each other wide eyed. "I-I thought you were dead," Evelyn whispered, immediately moving away and she attempted to cover herself.

"....I'm alive," He mumbled quietly.

Evelyn exhaled a breath of relief when she processed who this was. "Dick....I'm so sorry, it's all my fault he got you again." She stared at the wall, "I'm nothing but a failure, but at least Barbara got out." That girl was good at everything so of course she was able to get help and probably save everyone.

Dick furrowed his brows, "What?"

"What, What?" Evelyn replied.

"Barbara escaped?" Dick was growing confused and a new stronger headache was starting to form. "How'd she get here? W-Why's she here?" He asked sitting up quickly, his voice getting louder.

Evelyn looked at him equally confused. "I don't know how Crawford got her but you broke us out. I don't know how you did, but her and I ran out into the woods and you stayed behind."

Dick sat there completely silent, his eyes wide and his mouth ajar. "Look just relax....clearly you're not all here," Evelyn grumbled. Great...this was just what she needed. As if being stuck in a closet butt naked wasn't bad enough she was stuck with an equally naked Dick Grayson who seemed to have hit his head or was just incredibly exhausted and injured.

After what felt like hours of silence Dick spoke "How is this your fault?"

Evelyn sighed and shivered, "He made me lure you into the trap. It's my fault you were kidnapped, he made me send that text." She clenched her eyes shut. "And now he's blaming someone else for the flash drives being stolen even though it was my fault and I'm so scared to tell the truth and I'm being so selfish-"

Dick just shook his head, "That's not what happened."

She froze and looked up, "Wait...you didn't fall for it?"

He shook his head and Evelyn sighed a breath of relief, "Then how?"

"Not important," He mumbled slowly standing up using a blanket to cover himself. He shook a bit but managed to keep his balance. Evelyn frowned and looked at him, his legs were covered in blood and it looked as if he'd been drug through hell and back and he was covered in marks she didn't want to even think about.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

Dick easily opened the door and walked out of the closet, stumbling a little. He flicked the lights back on and looked at her, "It was locked?" She looked at him greatly confused.

"I broke the latch." He then turned away and sat down at a fold up chair and started to go through some files that were scattered about the table.

Evelyn wanted to go and see what she was doing but she was freezing and she felt incredibly uncomfortable just standing around exposed. "What are those?" She asked staying in the closet.

"Files with names." He tossed them at her nearly hitting her in the face with the folder. "He makes lists of future victims to abduct."

Evelyn scowled and opened it and started to scan through the names. "Jesus."

"Anyone you know?" He didn't know any of those names, maybe Crawford was branching out and picking up random people now. He sounded pretty desperate for money yet he still wanted to buy him And Evelyn. He hoped he caused Crawford to go bankrupt, he wasn't cheap or well he was assuming he wasn't.

How sick.

"I know three of these people, not well though," She replied. "They're just people I've seen around at school." She frowned and tossed him the folder, "You'd think with all the chaos with the league on his trail he'd chill with the kidnapping." Wasn't he scared of getting caught?

Dick just shrugged and stared at the wall, "He's a sick perv. At this point all he's probably thinking about is how to ruin other kids lives." Wasn't this enough for him? Clearly he needed to have a different brat for each day of the week or something. Jesus, that man made him feel sick to his stomach.

Evelyn exhaled, "What now?"

Dick shrugged again, "I can't do anything." He lifted his foot that was shackled, "I'm not going anywhere."

"Well neither am I," She grumbled. "So we just let him do what he wants?"

"That's the only option we have right now." Dick leaned back in the rickety chair and stared at the wall, "Hopefully he'll just kill us or something."

Evelyn looked at him, "No." She shivered, "I remember when I was saved the first time Batman's kid I think saved me and I saw him again when Crawford caught me again. Maybe he'll help us?"

Dick just laughed bitterly, "He's dead."

Evelyn furrowed her brows. "H-How do you know that?" She asked.

"I just do. He's dead and he's not going to help us." 

*****

"Are you okay, Artemis?" Megan asked quietly. For the last hour Artemis had been silently sitting on the couch in the living room just staring off into the distance, Megan assumed maybe it could be the medication she was on to help with the pain of dislocating her arm...but it was still worrying.

Artemis looked up at her and after a moment of silence she shrugged and winced. "Y-yeah," She said quietly.

Megan sat next to her and frowned. "Are you sure?" She didn't want to pester her but she didn't like seeing any of her friends upset and the last week had been full of upset people including herself.

Artemis looked at the floor and slowly leaned back, "I.." She paused, "No." She sighed and bit her lip unsure of what to say. How could she be okay? She was completely useless! She'd fucked up big time, she really did! And this fuck up probably cost her, her spot on the team. Batman was pissed at her! She knew it, he hadn't said a word to her since their failure at the abandoned school. Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong and she didn't help in any way possible.

All she did was get hurt and let Robin get caught by some crazy sicko!

He could be dead right now and it was all her fault. 

"I messed up Megan, this whole mess it's my fault. I-I could have helped, I really could have!" She wasn't supposed to fuck up missions, that was Wally's job and this time it wasn't him it was her! "If I didn't slip up I could have gotten help sooner and not have put Wally in danger and Robin would be here." 

Megan looked at her unsure of how to respond. "It wasn't your fault, Artemis." 

"It was!"

"We've had missions go wrong all the time and we've managed to set it right, Im sure the league will get that man and-"

Artemis stood up and ignored the shooting pain going through her right arm, "You weren't there. You have no fucking idea," She hissed quickly walking away. 

Megan watched her leave her eyes wide. 

Artemis knew she could have been nicer but she didn't care enough to apologize, not at the moment at least. The league? They'd help? They weren't keeping them updated about anything, hell maybe they found Robin and he was dead or something and they just didn't want to tell them? Honestly she could see Batman as the kind of person who'd do that. Hide everything from everyone.

Sure he had a huge reason to be upset and he probably had every right to be private about this but not keeping them involved would only cause more harm...right?

Artemis forced herself to calm her breathing before she punched something with her good arm and screamed loudly. She wanted to help so badly she really did but how could she help? What the fuck was she going to do?! She knew absolutely nothing.

She wished she did die in that wretched building. Being forced to see the misery her fuck up caused was honestly a fate worse than death. This was hell, it really was all it needed was some fire and it was complete!

She quietly walked to the exit, she needed some fresh air.

Lovely fresh Gotham air, the smell of trashy streets and the sounds of sirens and gunshots from drug deals gone wrong always lifted one's mood. She wished she wasn't out of an arm for 16 weeks because she'd happily punch some of the criminals running those streets. Gotham was slowly losing the small amount of order it had. Batman had only been seen once and that was when Joker was causing chaos downtown and other than that he'd been MIA. She knew why but no one else did.

The things Batman would do for Robin was honestly puzzling. Batman was such a cold man he never smiled and it was impossible to tell if you were being insulted by him or complimented by him because of the scowl that was always on that face and sent mixed messages at times. She always wondered how Robin could stand that man? Sure he was impressive, a human who was more intelligent then the entire league combined and he could probably beat every single member without breaking a sweat...so that was cool. But it did not hide the fact he was an asshole.

Was Robin related to him? She always assumed so but she couldn't imagine Batman having a son because who would want to have a relationship with that man? Was it a one night stand gone wrong? Batman didn't seem like the kind of guy to sleep around. So was Robin his younger brother? That was possible but still sounded a bit far fetched. Why would their parents let them do what they did!?

Honestly thinking about how Robin was related to Batman made her feel worse. She couldn't even imagine how it felt to know someone who you'd raised or known for years was in danger and could be dead.

She didn't know Robin thaaat well but she considered him a good friend. He always knew how to make her smile and he seemed to get her sarcastic asshole nature. And he seemed to know her better than she knew herself...which was actually really creepy but he was the Bat's kid? (maybe?) So he was bound to be a detective of the sorts...

She sighed and walked out of a telephone booth and shivered when she stepped out into the cold Gotham air. The moon was completely covered by dark clouds and it was snowing pretty heavily out. The street was covered in a thin layer of ice from the freezing rain from earlier on. Artemis's teeth chattered and she made her way down the sidewalk, she didn't have a destination in mind. She just needed to gather her thoughts before she freaked out and broke something.

She ignored how much her arm hurt and carried on walking, the sounds of sirens and cars honking and people in the alleyways of bars or clubs was all she heard. November was a miserable month in this damned City.

"Get away from me you freak!"

Artemis froze and turned around. "You fucking creepy, I told you im not into that shit. I don't care about the fucking money!" Artemis quickly walked to where she heard the voice and peeked around the corner and into an alleyway between an old convenience store and an abandoned shop. In the alleyway stood a girl who couldn't be more than 13 and towering over her was a large man who was standing uncomfortably close to her.

"I'll give you 500, you can feed your family. Isn't that what you're out here for?" The man asked, his voice sounded as if he was choking on gravel or maybe he ran out of cough drops.

The girl let out a disgusted scoff and stepped away from him, her back hitting the brick wall. "You're like 50 years old and you've probably got an STD, i'm not getting anywhere near you!" She yelled.

The man let out an irritated growl and grabbed her wrist and shoved her into the street and then grabbed her ear. "HELP!" She screamed.

"What the fuck are you doing!" Artemis yelled, her eyes wide when the poor kid was nearly shoved into her. The man looked at her and his eyes widened when he noticed that someone had witnessed that.

The man's grip tightened on the poor girl's wrist and she let out a small whimper. "My daughter snuck out, I'm bringing her home. She's a degenerate." The girl let out a sound of protest and looked at Artemis, silently pleading for help.

Fuck.

Artemis narrowed her eyes and the girl squirmed out of the man's grip and bolted. The man took off after her and Artemis took this as her opportunity to help. She grabbed the man's shirt with her left hand and tugged him roughly back and he turned around quickly and threw a punch at her face. Artemis grunted and sloppily dodged, nearly getting hit on the side of her face, "You should walk away girl!" The man yelled, grabbing her left arm when she tried to punch him in the face. He tugged her closer and grunted when he got kneed where the sun didn't shine and he stumbled back and the girl came up behind him and tripped him and the man fell roughly on his ass. Artemis grabbed the girl's wrist and she took off down the street dragging the girl behind her as fast as she could, she could hear the man behind them screaming that he'd kill them and Artemis took a sharp turn into an alley and she quickly opened a dumpster and motioned for the girl to get in.

The girl looked at her horrified and she was about to protest but the sound of the man's heavy footsteps grew closer and she jumped in and Artemis followed her in and closed the lid. The girl had her shirt covering her nose and mouth, the smell of rotting food probably was making her feel sick.

Artemis oddly didn't care much about the stench, she was more concerned about the man finding them and she was distracted with how much her right arm was throbbing.

After what felt like hours Artemis slowly opened the lid and looked into the alley and found it was completely empty besides a stray cat snoozing on top of a trash can. She slowly climbed out and took a deep breath, the lovely Gotham air never smelt so good before.

The girl clumsily clambered out of the dumpster and fell to her knees and vomited on the concrete and coughed. Artemis quickly approached her and knelt down beside the girl. "T-That was one hell of a hiding spot," The girl mumbled, wiping off her mouth with her sleeve. The girl looked younger than Artemis originally thought and she seemed pretty rough, her black hair was tied in a bun that seemed matted and her face was covered in cuts and dirt. "But thanks for saving my ass."

"What did that man want from you?" Artemis asked, helping the small girl up on her feet. She had a feeling that she knew what the answer was but she didn't want to be that quick to judge.

"Who knows, that man has been lurking around this area for three days now," The girl replied, crossing her arms. "He's been harassing me and my friends nonstop and he was following me home."

Artemis narrowed her eyes, "He's been stalking you?"

The girl shrugged, "I'm not sure. Maybe." She rubbed her eyes and yawned, "My friend, he was certain that man was trying to kidnap us and sell our organs or something." She kicked at a piece of trash on the ground, "I believe him now that's for sure."

"How old are you?"

The girl looked at Artemis, "What's this? Twenty questions?" She asked.

Artemis sighed, "Look kid I'm just trying to help you."

The girl just rolled her eyes, "I just turned 12 last week, want my name while you're at it?"

"That would be helpful."

"It's Mary Rene," She said tapping her finger on her arm. "Look I want to get home before some other creep tries to kill me or something." She turned and started to walk off. "Thanks for saving my ass!" She said walking away.

Artemis just watched her walk away and disappear around the corner.

This felt wrong.

Very wrong. 

The girl was young, she was almost abducted by someone who had been stalking her. She mentioned something about being sold for organs- 

“””"On the outskirts of Bludhaven is an abandoned factory, and i have reasons to believe drugs are being smuggled from there to Gotham and other major cities," Batman started to explain.

"So.....we just stop a drug ring?" Artemis asked scowling. "Isn't that something the police can handle?" She didn't see why they had to take care of this. Sounded pretty small to her.  
Batman sent a glare her way and she shut her mouth and crossed her arms.

"I also have reasons to believe that a small human trafficking ring is being organized there," He said scowling.

"Human trafficking?" M'gann asked, seeming to be completely clueless, "What's that?" She questioned.

"Human trafficking is when people are sold for various reasons, like for their organs or for labor," Robin explained, "Or for much worse."”””

Artemis's eyes widened, "WAIT!" She yelled, running after the girl. "WAIT! Mary come back!"

She might have just found out a way to help Batman.


	15. Chapter 15

Luna sighed and sat down on an old stained couch that smelled of body odor and smoke, she had the absolute worst headache in the universe and sleeping did NOT help whatsoever. Just gave her shitty dreams that left her confused, "I was wondering where you disappeared too," Crawford grumbled as he emerged from the basement. 

"How'd the meeting with the boss go?" She mumbled, crossing her arms. 

"Fucking awful." Crawford walked into the small decrepit kitchen and pulled a beer out of the fridge. "He took Grayson from me." 

Luna rolled her eyes, "Oh how sad. What are you going to do now? Fuck with Myers only?" She laughed. "How sad, I'll cry for you if you want." 

Crawford threw the beer cap at her and missed, how pathetic. "Shut up, the damn brat is still here. I just have to pay for him...and for Myers when she was a gift! She never belonged to him; she was meant for me!" 

"Oh, how special! Did she come with a bow on her?" She stood up and cracked her knuckles. "That's disgusting, who the fuck would give a person to you as a gift?" She shook her head, "I've done awful things Daniel but never would I do that." 

Crawford glared at her, "Shut up you pathetic brat!

"Oh whatever, go back in the basement and let me enjoy some quiet. Go punish Grayson or something, I don't care....just goooo away." Luna wasn't in the mood for this man's shit right now, he irritated her. Sometimes she felt bad for the brats that had to deal with him but the more she thought about it the less she cared. Those brats had everything handed to them, they were nothing but stupid spoiled rich brats who deserved a taste of the real world. 

She hated spoiled rich kids. 

They really pissed her off. 

****

"Is he even alive still?"

"Leave him alone-"

"Oh shut up you brat," Luna hissed as she continued to poke Grayson in the face, she had been checking up on the two brats every once and awhile and she'd only seen Grayson move once and that was a twitch and it was a few hours ago. He was still curled up under a thin blanket in the corner of the old closet. "Hey!" She poked his side with her foot and scowled when he still didn't move.

"Just leave him alone!" Evelyn hissed. "He's not doing anything." Why did that blonde girl insist on tormenting them? What was her problem!? Had she been dropped on her head as a baby or something?

"Yeah well that's the problem," Luna stood up straight and crossed her arms. She was supposed to make sure they didn't die or if someone was dying she had to tell someone, two others died this morning. They weren't that valuable so they just burnt their remains and buried what they could out back. At first Father was irritated because more money was lost but they didn't have a lot of room for anyone else in this basement so good riddance. There were only five more left, two were new, two died and one was an older brat, 17. So she was just shoved in the upstairs closet and the two new ones were in the only available other room in this place.

Evelyn just scowled at her and curled up in the corner, her teeth chattering. "Just go away."

Luna rolled her eyes and walked away, slamming the door behind her.

"She gone yet...?" Dick mumbled quietly.

"Yeah she's gone now." Evelyn sighed, "Thank god. She's annoying."

Dick just nodded slowly, opening his eyes. He really wished he wasn't kicked. For once he was actually having a decent dream... "Did Crawford show up?" He asked, passing her the blanket, he felt awful for letting her stay cold like that.

She shrugged and picked at the hem of the blanket, "I'm not sure i fell asleep for a little but i did hear him out in the hallway." She rested the back of her head on the wall, "I hope he leaves us alone."

"I highly doubt that."

Evelyn just nodded slowly, "Why us?" She asked scowling, "Out of everyone in Gotham why won't he leave us alone?" He'd already ruined her entire life the first time he kidnapped her. Why did he have to do it again? "How could someone be so cruel?"

Dick just stayed silent, he really had no answer for this. He didn't know a single thing about Crawford's real motive, sure he was selling kids for money but why did he only torment kids with similar physical features? I mean sure that could be his type and all but that couldn't be the only reason. Criminals always had a reason.....they had motives.

Right?

Agh his head was pounding and he didn't want to think anymore. This was just stressing him out more and more, he clenched his eyes shut and just stayed silent. He wished he could remember what he did when he 'escaped' how far he got? Didn't he stay behind? WHY?! Freezing to death seemed amazing.

"I think I heard him coming down the stairs," Evelyn whispered. She groaned and covered herself with the blanket and Dick just sighed. "Just tell him I'm dead or something," She said closing her eyes.

Dick just nodded and stared at the doorway and waited for Crawford, he could hear him yelling at someone in the hall but couldn't make out what he was saying exactly but he sounded upset. Dick took a deep breath and just closed the closet door and he prepared for the worst.

He really wished he was invisible.

******

"You're talking way too fast," Wally said, frowning. "Slow down."

Artemis took a deep breath and started pacing around Wally's room. She had hoped he'd show up at the mountain soon but he was on bed rest and what she had to say couldn't wait. "I know how to find Crawford!" She exclaimed. "I-I know how to save Robin!"

Wally looked at her, his eyes wide and he sat up quickly and ignored the shooting pain in his leg. "Wait how? Did you tell Batman?" He asked quickly. It had been eating him up inside that he couldn't go out there and help, he really wanted to sneak out but putting any pressure on his leg was unbearable. His knee had been shattered by some lucky fool with good aim, he'd be up on his feet in another week or so because of how quickly he could heal...but waiting even that long was torture.

"So the other day by chance i came across someone who was almost abducted by one of Crawford's men-"

"Wait so you guys caught someone!?" Wally asked.

"No No, not exactly. I just scared him off, I only have one arm." She sighed and sat down on the bed, "But the girl had a lot of similarities with the other victims and she said something about them stalking her friend group and selling their organs..."

Wally frowned, "And you told Batman right?" He couldn't believe he was being the rational one.

Artemis exhaled, "Not yet." She looked at the floor, "I'd doubt he'd think my plan is worthy of even considering," She said slowly.

"Well what is it?"

"We figure out how to sneak into that group being stalked and maybe get caught....?"

Wally looked dumbfounded, "You're wanting us to get kidnapped along with other kids!?" He cried out, "Artemis what is wrong with you!?" He put his head in his hands, "Oh my god."

"What else are we supposed to do!?" She asked, "The league isn't telling us anything?" She frowned, "We have to do something!"

Wally was silent, he felt incredibly conflicted. He wanted his best friend back more than anything in the world and he would do anything to get him back. But Artemis's idea was....it was really something. "I can't believe I'm being the rational one here," He grumbled. The world was all screwed up.

"I know...but could you at least consider this?" She asked. "I know it's stupid but if we get kidnapped and find out where Crawford is keeping the poor kids and everything we can catch him once and for all and this mess with be over!"

"We don't even have what Crawford wants, we look nothing like the other victims." Wally shook his head, "And the league will never allow this." This plan was a failure from the start.

"I'll dye my hair," She replied quickly. "And get colored contacts."

Wally clenched his teeth and sat in silence, "Look i know this is stupid and now that i think of it it'll be impossible for you to go along with it because of your leg-"

"Your arm is hurt, you can't do it either."

"I'll be fine." She could easily hide an injured arm. "I'd already talked this out with the girl I helped and she's willing to let me join her group temporarily."

"Nothing i say is going to change your mind is it?" He asked quietly. He'd still try...

Artemis shook her head. "Not in the slightest."

Wally groaned, "Artemis this is dangerous. I don't want to lose anyone else to that man," He said frowning. "You don't understand how sick and twisted he is."

"I understand enough-"

"You don't! He'll rape you Artemis that's what he does!" Wally cried out, "He doesn't only use those kids for their organs he rapes them!" He sat up a bit straighter and looked at Artemis right in the eyes. "If you use yourself as bait just..."

"I won't let him do anything." She stood up and crossed her arms, "I promise you I'll find Robin and Crawford."

"Can you at least talk to Batman?" Wally asked.

"I will." She said leaving the room.

She would tell him enough to know that Crawford's men were lurking still but she wasn't telling him what she was doing.

She'd find Robin.

And that 12 year old girl was the key to everything.

And some hair dye. 

*****

He wanted to kill this man. 

He wanted to kill him right now. 

He would kill him.

Daniel Crawford was an absolute repulsive man who deserved to slowly bleed to death. He would never contribute to this world and Dick prayed he'd get the chance to give him what he really deserved. 

Killing Crawford would be the only thing that would genuinely make him happy. Bruce would be pissed but right now Dick didn't care, he'd be dead by then anyway. He was pretty sure 99% of his wounds were getting infected, he hadn't eaten properly for about a week (maybe?) and he would probably jump off a bridge or something immediately after killing Daniel. 

Being dead sounds amazing right now.

"Listen to yourself, you're disgusting," Crawford laughed forcing Dick's face into the rough carpet floor. "You're nothing but a whore." 

Dick tried everything he could to get away from him, he squirmed and kicked and clawed to the point his nails were broken and bleeding but Crawford was a lot stronger then he was and he didn't stand a chance. "A girl can take this better than you can! Pathetic!" Crawford forced his head up, "Did you hear me?" He hissed. 

Dick clenched his eyes shut, he was pretty sure he had a very bad friction burn on the right side of his face. He wasn't listening, Crawford could keep trying all he wanted but he was doing everything in his power to not give him what he wanted. 

"Oh come on, don't be such a little bitch!" Crawford growled roughly shoving his face back into the carpet. "I can make this hurt ten times more if you keep this up!" He was getting annoyed, the kid wasn't even making any noise aside from a yelp here and there. And it pissed him off, he didn't want to do this on the floor at first but he figured the threat of a friction burn would make the kid submit but clearly, that wasn't working out. 

How was he supposed to get any enjoyment out of this? Humiliate him?? That got everyone...

Agh this wasn't supposed to be stressful and a workout it was supposed to be fun.

And clearly Grayson wasn't really meant to be fun he was a pain in the ass and it should be the other way around. He should be the pain in HIS ass....literally. 

Man, he was a smart dude. Crawford smiled at his little joke that was a good one. "You really don't like to make this easy for me." He moved away from the kid and fixed his pants, "You're a fucking cunt." He stood up and walked over to his makeshift desk and fixed his shirt, agh it was all wrinkled he'd have to get Luna to iron it out or something. 

Dick slowly curled up and clutched the side of his face that just made it sting more. God dammit. "You're a pansy. This is nothing compared to what I've got planned for you!" Crawford hissed walking up to him, "You destroyed my entire operation! I've lost thousands of dollars and I'm just barely making enough to even afford this shit hole!" He yelled, kicking him. "You deserve this!"

Crawford sighed when his phone went off and he quickly picked it up and left the room, slamming the door shut behind him. 

"Devon, what do you want?" Crawford grumbled walking down the narrow and creaky steps that led into the mess of a living room this sorry excuse of a building had. "I thought you'd finally fuck off for a bit." 

"You're getting sloppy."

"What's that supposed to mean you fucking ass!" Crawford cried out sitting down on the couch, "I've been working my ass on getting any brat I can find!" He clenched his fists, "I'm barely able to make 100 dollars off of one right now!" 

"Soon you'll be making nothing, one of your goons was spotted talking to some kids in Gotham. Citizens are getting suspicious and since Grayson and Myers went missing again, the entire city and soon the country will be informed about this mess of a trafficking ring."

Crawford groaned and leaned back, "Fucking hell..." This was a disaster. 

"I'm giving you two weeks to fix this shit show and if it's not done by then we're moving overseas." 

"We can't do that!" Crawford wanted to shoot himself in the face now, "How the fuck am I supposed to get past airport security and shit! I'm a wanted criminal you fucking twat!" This was getting very bad. 

"You can't but I can, I'll leave you here to deal with prison time and I'll go and do this myself and run things right! And I'll take MY fucking kid and Grayson and Myers and everyone else you fucking took from me!" There was a pause, "So if you don't fix this now-"

"I'll fix this..." Crawford replied quickly. "I'll figure something out." 

"You better."

Crawford sighed and when Devon hung up he just threw his phone across the room and ignored the sound of the screen shattering. This was not how he envisioned this operation, it was supposed to run smoothly. No one was supposed to notice...

But then again when the rich kids start disappearing everyone notices. 

Fucking rich kids. Why did he even target them? They were all spoiled pansies who thought they were entitled to everything. He wished he cut his kids tongue out maybe if he did that he'd never mess with the rich brats. 

  
"Why'd you throw the phone?" Luna grumbled opening the front door, two grocery bags in hand. "It was hell in the damn apple store to get that!" What a complete ass. Those apple stores were miserable....the lines....the hipsters....the customer service. God that place scared the hell out of her. "I refuse to buy you a new one." 

They didn't even have the money!

"Shut your trap you blonde bitch!" Crawford snapped.

Luna raised her eyebrows and placed the bags on the kitchen counter, "Woah you sound like you're on your period? Grayson kicked you too hard again? Make you bleed? Or did he bite it? I'd figure he'd be petty enough to do that-"

"BE QUIET!" He yelled. 

Luna jumped and scowled. "Ugh," She muttered. Maybe this was why the brats pretended to be dead most of the time...who would want to deal with that? 

Fucking hell she didn't even get paid to deal with him! Why did she even do this!? Agh thinking about that gave her headaches.

"Get your ass to Gotham one last time, meet up with the group I have there and get the last bunch of street trash. After that Gotham is off limits." 

"Oh, Batman finally scaring you?" Luna crossed her arms, "I should have figured." 

"Just do what I said," Crawford muttered, rubbing his temples. "Please." He stood up and started to make his way upstairs, "Call me if anything else goes wrong." He needed to take a nap or maybe make Grayson bleed some more. 

“How am I supposed to call you if you trashed your phone?” She asked, throwing her hands up in the air. This man was stupid, painfully stupid. 

****

Girly stuff had never been her thing so she was lost when it came to the idea of how to use hair dye. She'd heard horror stories of the dye turning wrong or girls losing their hair so Artemis at first considered going to a salon but she didn't have the time. So she went to the nearest corner store, grabbed whatever seemed okay and headed to the mountain. 

Her mom would never let her dye her hair and she'd want to know why all of a sudden she wanted black hair. And lying to her mother was the scariest thing she could do so she wasn't going to risk it. Lying to her about an overnight mission was hard enough. 

Artemis walked into the mountain's living room and dropped the bag of hair dye on the couch and sighed. "I need help." She said, staring directly at M'gann who was sitting cross-legged on the floor doing some homework. 

"What's wrong?" She asked looking up. 

"Do you know how to use hair dye?" Artemis asked sitting across from her.

M'gann frowned, "No...but I could try." She didn't really need hair dye. "Uh, and why are you changing your hair?" She asked looking at the box dye, "I think your hair is nice the way it is." 

Artemis frowned, "It's a long story but it'll be worth it in the end," She replied. Or at least she hoped this would be worth it, risking your life and doing the most idiotic thing she could possibly think of was not fun. But in the end, it would be worth it. 

"Oh alright," M'gann replied standing up. "I have the time to listen." 

M'gann attempting to dye her hair was definitely an experience. But after some trial and error, she got the hang of it, "Alright so I set the timer. When it goes off you should be good to rinse your hair out." M'gann sat down on the floor next to Artemis. "I hope it turns out." 

Artemis nodded, "Me too." 

"You're dying your hair?" Zatanna asked, walking into the living room. She wasn't around that much but she always seemed to show up when something went on. Thankfully this time it wasn't awful...last time she decided to pop in to visit she found out Robin was missing. 

Not the best thing to hear. So thank GOD this time it was just hair dye. 

Artemis nodded, "Yup." 

"Why?" Zatanna asked sitting on the couch, "Black hair isn't much fun." 

"It's a deathwish in Gotham," Artemis replied. 

M'gann just frowned and Zatanna raised her eyebrows, unaware of what was going on. She hadn't been around much in the last few months, "What?" She asked sitting up straight, "A death wish?"

"Some creep is going around kidnapping kids with black hair and selling them." She checked the time and sighed. 

"Oh...I heard about that. It's been all over the news since some famous people got kidnapped," Zatanna replied. "It's sick." 

"Then why are you getting black hair....?" M'gann asked quietly. 

Artemis took a deep breath, "I'm going to try and get kidnapped-"

"WHAT?!" Zatanna cried out her eyes wide, "That's awful Artemis!" Why would anyone want to be kidnapped, "Do you know what happens in trafficking rings? They'll kill you." 

"And they're going to kill Robin if I don't do something! Just think if I get kidnapped I can find Robin and we can kick Daniel Crawford's ass and then end this!" Artemis replied, "It's been a week and the league has made no progress with finding him." She sighed, "If he dies It's all my fault." It was her fault that they didn't get back up sooner if her sorry ass hadn't gotten hurt maybe Robin would be here. "Daniel is sick.. we need to find Robin before anything bad happens." 

"Look I already know how I'll do this too, I've thought everything out," Artemis said standing up. "I found a girl who can help me, and I'll have a tracer so we can find out where he takes the victims." 

"The league will be tracing you?" Zatanna asked. 

Artemis shook her head quickly, "No." 

"W-

*Kid Flash B03*

The girls froze when they heard that, "I thought he was on bed rest?" M'gann said standing up. 

Artemis groaned, "Shoot." He was probably here to tell her how stupid and dangerous this was and try and to convince her to tell the league....just like he did earlier. Or how she had to think rationally and all. But she knew this would work, she just had this gut feeling and if she told the league they'd do nothing but breath down her neck or they'd completely dismiss her. When did they ever listen to them? All they did was send the team on stupid childish missions. 

And she was NOT letting them ruin this. She COULD do this and she'd save Robin and make things right. "You should be in bed," M'gann said, walking over to Wally. He just rolled his eyes and hobbled over to the couch and sat down, pushing his crutches aside. 

"I'm assuming you're still going along with your whole 'getting kidnapped' plan," Wally frowned looking at Artemis. "It's completely stupid and dangerous..." He paused, "But I'll help you, I'm not letting you go through this alone." 

"You're not going with me, but you can help with the tracer." 

Wally nodded, "I uh...have some info on how Crawford works," He added. "It might be important." 

"The timer's gone off," M'gann said, turning off her phone's alarm.

Artemis nodded, "Tell me what you know after I'm done finishing this disaster." She then quickly walked off in the direction of the bathrooms. 

"How much do you know about this?" Artemis asked sitting down next to Wally. "And how do you know all of this?" She tossed the towel she used to dry her hair on the floor and winced when she saw it turned black. 

"Not that much but enough to help you," Wally replied, pulling out a laptop. "Robin has been investigating the Trafficking ring since it first started up, he knew a lot about Daniel Crawford and he kept most of the documents on his laptop. Other's at the Batcave." Which they couldn't get. 

"Is that why he was a target?" Artemis asked. 

"I was thinking it could be his hair," Zatanna said sitting down across from them. "He does have black hair, maybe Crawford noticed him in Gotham?" She didn't know anything about this but she was really trying to help. She felt awkward just sitting here in silence. 

"That's partly why but he managed to come across Evelyn Myers in Bludhaven and that's what got the trafficking ring really noticed. It's what ruined the entire operation..." Wally replied, opening a file, "And he helped us with finding Dick Grayson...and uh I guess that really made Crawford mad." 

"So he was looking for Robin?" Artemis asked. In that case, she should go now and call Mary, "Because if Crawford really hated Robin he's probably going to be killed!" She went to stand up but Wally grabbed her arm and shook her head. 

"No, Crawford won't kill him. He's probably selling him," Which was awful but it bought them some time, "He has everything Crawford wants. Unless he..." Wally sighed this was hard to talk about. It made him really think about what his best friend could be going through right now and it made him angrier that he couldn't go out and help. "Crawford won't kill him, he's worth more alive." He sighed, "The victims that didn't have black hair and blue eyes or at least black hair were all killed for their organs. He should be safe." For now.

"So I could be killed for my organs if I go through with this?" Artemis asked, "Is that what you're trying to tell me?" 

Wally nodded, "Yeah." 

"But maybe Robin doesn't have blue eyes," Artemis stood up and pulled her arm away from Wally's grip, "I have to go now. I-I have to get a tracer ready...we don't have much time." She rushed off leaving Wally and Zatanna alone in the living room. 

Wally just watched Artemis leave and he slowly got up and winced. This was going to be rough. 

"You're telling the league...right?" Zatanna asked, looking at him. 

He took a deep breath and nodded. "Definitely." 

He felt like the responsible one here and that wasn't how it normally was. 

But he wanted Robin to be safe just as badly as Artemis wanted, if not more. Robin was his best friend, he was his other half, a partner in crime, his little brother. And knowing what already went through and was going through again made him want to murder Daniel. 

But was this really the way?

****

She hated Gotham more and more every time she stepped foot in this damn City. Luna shuddered and pulled her hood up and walked down the icy and snowy sidewalks, she was currently in the 'rough' part of Gotham. Apparently, there was a group of street rats that hung around here somewhere and there were a few 'black haired beauties' in the group. Ugh, Father had an addiction. 

Luna rubbed her hands together and looked around, she had some of the goons following her in a plumbing van so she could get the kids in there. But first to find them...

Luna walked down an alley and froze when she heard the voices of two females. 

"Are you sure you want to do this?" A girl asked walking down the alley, she was a rather short girl. Couldn't be older than 13 or maybe even younger, she had messy black hair and an old jacket on and next to her was a taller girl who seemed to be in her late teens. Maybe 16 or 17. They both had black hair and they seemed rather trashy...

"Yes," The taller girl replied. 

The short girl sighed, "You're absolutely insane y'know." 

Luna watched them walk off and she slowly trailed after them and soon they stopped by an alleyway that was a dead end and about three other kids were there sitting on dumpsters all talking. 

This must be the group one of the Goons was talking about. Luna took this as her chance to act like a kid and attempt to make friends, then she'd give the goons the signal and soon enough Father would have kids and she'd never had to be here again. 

She hated Gotham. 

"Who's this?" A kid asked, sliding off the dumpster. 

The short girl looked up at the tall girl and sighed. "Some b- I mean my cousin. Uh, she's visiting me and I decided I'd make her stand out in the cold for no apparent reason." 

Luna grinned and walked up to them, "Hello other kids." 

The group looked at her confused, "Uh who are you?" The short girl asked, scowling. She seemed like a crazy bitch honestly. 

"Someone who's looking for friends." 

The boy sitting on the dumpster scoffed, "You're a fucking creep." 

"Yeah...agreed," The short girl said, rolling her eyes. 

"I'm out of here," The boy stood up and jumped off the dumpster and the other two kids followed him out of the alley. Good, they didn't have the hair color she needed. 

"Oh thanks for scaring away my friends before my stupid cousin could," The short girl hissed starting to walk away but she froze when a gun was shoved into her face. "Fuck."

Luna narrowed her eyes, "Scream and I shoot you in the gut and let you bleed out," She growled. The short girl seemed to shrink and she raised her arms, "Good girl." She waved her hand and a plumbing truck pulled into the alley and the side doors opened and two large men jumped out guns drawn. "Now we're going to take a little ride." 

Artemis had her hands up, this was going exactly how she hoped it would. 

*****

She was pretty sure he was dead. 

The moment Crawford had thrown him back into the closet he hadn't moved an inch and that had been three hours ago. Evelyn gently covered Dick with the blanket and moved back into her corner and looked at him, he looked pretty bad...his face looked like he'd gotten road rash on it or something. 

His entire right side of his face was red and it seemed like the skin had just been rubbed off. Just thinking about it made her cringe and uncomfortable, blood made her so uncomfortable which was why she wanted to be a realtor like her mom and not a doctor like her dad. 

"Hey...Dick?" She said quietly, moving back over to him. She gently shook his shoulder and she bit her lip when he didn't respond, uh how did you check for a pulse? God dammit. She groaned and shook him again and again rougher each time. "Dick? Dick?" 

He wasn't moving. 

"Dick!?" She cried out, "Richard?" She shook him harder and harder to the point where it had to hurt and she froze when she thought she saw him move. 

She moved her eyes wide. "Dick?" 

"Stop...." He mumbled quietly, his voice hoarse. 

Evelyn sighed a breath of relief and moved closer to him again, "I thought you were dead," She said frowning. "I'm sorry." She really just didn't want to be near a dead person and she really didn't want Dick to die, he was her only friend in this situation. Having someone here with her made this a little less scary. 

She doubted he felt that way. 

Dick just grumbled something under his breath that Evelyn couldn't understand and he shivered. Evelyn covered him a bit more with the blanket and looked at him worried, "W-What did he do?" How did Crawford do that to his face? Fucking hell that looked bad the longer she looked at it. 

Dick just cracked open his one eye and he looked at her. "Friction burn." 

She cringed, "Oh god." Those were always bad. She'd get them all the time on her knees....never fun. 

"He was mad." 

She nodded, "He sounded mad." 

"Yup." 

"Are you gonna be okay?" She asked. That was a stupid question because obviously it didn't seem like he would but she didn't know what to say. 

"No." He muttered. He honestly felt like he died, went to hell, came back to life and went to hell again. He never felt this awful before, his back ached, his legs hurt to move, his face stung and throbbed and he was pretty sure he broke his wrist before he couldn't feel it anymore and he felt like he nearly broke his jaw. And he was certain his stab wound was badly infected because it hurt like a mother fucker and he probably had a fever. 

"Try and sleep," Evelyn said softly. She was trying to be as helpful as she could but she really didn't know what to do. "If he comes in again I'll tell him to take me instead." She didn't think he'd live through another encounter with Crawford. 

She felt like she was going to be alone for a little.


	16. Chapter 16

She wasn't satisfied with the answers she got from Bruce. He barely said a word to her besides asking her what she knew about Crawford or if she knew if Dick was still alive and after that all he did was get the paramedics to bring her and the other escaped kids to the nearest hospital and she hadn't had a proper conversation with him since. He wouldn't answer her phone calls and Alfred wouldn't either.

Barbara paced back and forth in her room, growing angrier by the second.

Was he purposely ignoring her? Made sense why he would be looking for Dick and she really hoped he was making some progress but why couldn't he at least let her know how that was going? She had every right to know, he was her best friend and she was the last one to see him. She could help and she wanted to help! Her hand was crushed for this couldn't Bruce at least tell her something?! She deserved that at least.

Agh, this was awful.

She wanted to kick the wall and scream.

But her dad was asleep and she didn't want to wake him up. He rarely got any sleep...

So that would be rude if she woke him up. So Barbara decided to quietly scream and gently punch a pillow with her good hand.

That didn't make her feel any better.

******

"Do you think he just left us here?" Evelyn asked quietly. She hadn't heard anything upstairs for what felt like hours so maybe Crawford was leaving them to starve? Honestly didn't seem that bad because she was pretty sure they already were starving. He'd only thrown them random things to eat; she honestly didn't want to touch any of it. Looked like scraps of crap he'd been eating.

She frowned when Dick didn't respond, he hadn't been moving a whole lot. He'd just stare at the wall blankly and shiver every once and awhile and it was starting to worry her more and more. "He might have," She continued. "It would be nice if he did." She sighed and picked at her nails, "Maybe he left and got arrested and now he's leaving us here because he doesn't want the authorities to know where we are. He could use us as a way out of a longer prison sentence maybe..."

Dick just looked at her and scoffed, "Shut up." That sounded ridiculous. "He's probably passed out," He muttered looking back at the wall. Evelyn was really getting on his nerves, he knew it wasn't her fault because she was probably trying to distract herself from the matter at hand and he couldn't blame her for that. But he just wasn't in a great mood obviously he was feeling quite hostile and very very fed up with this entire situation. He was done with Crawford, he was done with being cold and sore all the time and he just wanted to go home so he could lay in bed and sleep for the rest of his life. Or better yet, just fucking die. 

"Hey...I don't know that. He doesn't bother with me anymore, i don't even know why he keeps me around here anymore. He's obsessed with you," She replied shrugging.

Dick took a deep breath and hit the back of his head against the wall making a loud thump noise. "He's a freak." And that was all he was saying, he was done right now. Actually he was done at the beginning of the week.

Evelyn was about to speak but jumped when a large slamming sound was heard from upstairs and the floor started to squeak. They could hear muffled voices and a lot of movement going on up there. "Guess he's back."

Dick frowned but just closed his eyes. He recalled Crawford saying something about getting some new brats in from Gotham then leaving the area, he would listen to what else he was saying but he'd been trying to get away at the same time and because of what was...happening he really couldn't focus on what Crawford was saying.

He didn't even know why he bothered talking to him while he was doing what he was doing. He wasn't listening to Crawford, like at all. He'd only heard a handful of his insults and they were all mediocre.

The only one that irritated him was when he said ‘a girl can take this better than you can.’ That really hit a nerve, he had so many things he wanted to say to that man but then he'd know what upset him and he'd keep saying it.

Over.

And.

Over.

Again

Again.

Again.

Dick took a deep breath and kept his eyes closed. The more he thought about him the angrier he got...damn if he got out of here alive he might need to talk to Conner about Anger management. He may need that after this.

He'd need a lot of things after this.

Oh who was he kidding, if he got out of here the first thing he'd do is jump off a bridge or something. Sounded really pathetic and made him feel pathetic but he didn't really wanna be in his skin anymore. He'd felt that way when he first got away from Crawford and he'd been considering it since then...and this was like the push that really made him want to just.

Get away.

Like forever.

"He's coming down here," Evelyn whispered. She scooted over to him and tried to hide behind him.

Dick winced when she forced him out of his corner and he exhaled. Wow how nice, just shove me over here so he can torment me some more. THANKS. "What if he really is going to kill us or something?" She whispered, grabbing his shoulders. "I hate it here and i really don't like being exposed and all but I really don't want to die," She whimpered.

Dick just stayed silent and closed the closet door. "Likes that's gonna help us," She said scowling.

Dick really wanted to slap her upside the head or maybe just tell her to shut her mouth...but that wouldn't help. He just wanted to sleep.

Evelyn flinched the sound of a door being kicked open and she hid her face in his hair. "Please don't let him hurt me,” she whimpered, gripping his bare shoulders and digging her nails into his skin.

Well He'd rather not spend some alone time with Crawford again. And not like he could really defend her, he couldn't even defend himself. He probably couldn't stand up, his legs ached and his back hurt like there was no tomorrow. And every time he moved too quickly he bled somewhere you shouldn't be bleeding. “Relax,” He grumbled, flinching from her nails. “Please.” He didn’t think he had the patience for this. She jumped and her grip tightened when the door was kicked open and heavy footsteps were heard.

"Get in you stupid brat!" Crawford screamed. There was a small thud and then the door slammed shut and everything was quiet. "Did he get another?" Evelyn whispered quietly. "Is someone out there?" She asked wide eyed.

"I can't see through doors Evelyn."

******

This was going just about how she'd planned.

She had a tracking device planted in her hair and she could communicate with the team but she didn't want to give them the okay to trace her just yet. No she wanted to find Robin first, if he wasn't here and Crawford was caught what if he didn't tell them where he was?? She sighed and sat up and rubbed the back of her head and turned to Mary who was standing up trying to open the door. "You okay?" She asked standing up. She felt awful for putting this girl in harm's way and she didn't plan for her to get kidnapped. She wanted Mary to run off but she wasn't expecting a gun and a short girl.

That girl was vicious and something about her seemed familiar...but she could tell put her finger on it.

"Oh fine besides the fact we're going to be killed!" Mary snapped, crossing her arms. "I wasn't expecting to be kidnapped too!" She huffed and kicked the door but froze when she thought she heard a voice. "Did you hear that?" She asked.

Artemis turned and looked at what she assumed was a closet door. "I did," She replied slowly approaching the door. Were there other kids in there? She slowly opened the door and jumped when a girl screamed. In the corner there was a female cowering behind a male both huddling under a blanket and it seemed like they hadn't had a proper meal in days and had been beaten very badly. "Woah." Bingo.

"Please don't hurt us." The girl hid behind the boy and he just sighed as her nails dug deeper into his bare shoulders.

"I'm gonna get you guys out of here," Artemis replied kneeling down in front of them. Her eyes narrowed the longer she looked at the two. Wait, that was Dick Grayson and Evelyn Myers. Shit.

"Thank god!" Evelyn said, pushing Dick aside. "When are we leaving? How are you going to help?" She asked, her eyes wide.

"As soon as i find someone."

Mary just rolled her eyes, "He's probably dead."

Artemis ignored the girl, "Who are you looking for?" Evelyn asked, "I don't know how to help because there aren't a lot of us left. When he helped us get out the first time," She said pointing to Dick, "A lot got away and the league helped us."

Artemis nodded slowly, "The person I'm looking for is affiliated with the League actually, and I'm looking for him." She frowned.

"You mean Batman's kid?" Evelyn asked, "I remember seeing him at the beginning of this week i think," She replied. "I've lost track of time honestly....but i'm pretty sure he's long gone by now."

Artemis felt her blood run cold and she started to feel sick to her stomach. "What do you mean long gone...?" She obviously knew what it meant but a part of her hoped she'd get a different answer. Robin couldn't be dead...he couldn't die.

That kid had everything figured out, he was always one step ahead. He couldn't die.

"I hadn't seen him since, and he's told me Daniel had been saying kids have been dying left and right." She said looking at Dick, "I maybe saw him once and then never again. He's probably dead." Evelyn frowned when she saw the girls reaction, she seemed as if she were about to cry. "I'm sorry if that's not the news you're looking for," She said softly. "If Daniel comes back and takes one of us again I'm sure we could ask him."

A part of him wanted to scream and hug her. She was alive! She didn't die, Crawford hadn't killed her! Dick silently stared at her while she spoke with Evelyn and he contemplated what he wanted to say.

He didn't know if he should be happy to see her or yell at her for being such an idiot! Just the mere thought of what Crawford could do to her made him want to vomit. He exhaled and dug his nails into his arm, "Dick...did you hear me?" Evelyn asked, shaking his shoulder. "Did Daniel tell you anything about him getting Batman's kid?" She frowned. "You said he was dead before, right?" She looked back at Artemis, she seemed devastated. "Are you sure?"

Dick clenched his eyes shut. "Hey, are you listening?" Evelyn snapped.

Artemis looked at Dick, her eyes wide. "Please...do you know anything that could help us?" She asked. She didn't want to sound desperate but she didn't want this to be for nothing. Sure she was saving the kids in this building...but then she'd never find Robin and Batman would be furious. The only reason she hadn't been scared of Batman before was because she was going to find Robin!

But now...

Didn't seem like that was going to happen.

Artemis turned her attention back to Dick. "Do you?"

Dick took a deep breath and ignored how much that hurt and he really wished he could just disappear. God dammit...what the hell was he supposed to say!? Crawford already knew who he was and that was bad. Did he really want to have Artemis and everyone else in this room know!? Sure he could trust her but what about Evelyn and that other girl who's just pacing around anxiously.

Dammit.

They were all staring at him now and this was making him more uncomfortable then he already was. He was bruised and bloody and the only thing covering him was an old blanket, people staring at him did NOT make him feel any better.

Artemis just seemed defeated, she stood up straight and was about to contact Wally and have him trace her signal.

"Get traught."

Artemis froze and she quickly turned back around and stared at Dick. "W-What?"

Evelyn just groaned, "Ignore him. Pretty sure he hit his head too hard," She muttered scooting away from him, "He's lost it."

Artemis ignored Evelyn and she sighed a breath of relief, I can't believe it.

Evelyn just sighed and snatched the blanket from him and shuffled to a different corner. That girl was kinda creepy, both of them were getting creepy. They were just silently staring at each other and she didn't like it.

Dick shuddered and curled up, silently cursing Evelyn for taking the damn blanket away. Couldn't Crawford have given them both one? He groaned and hit his head on the wall and frowned when Artemis sat next to him. "What are you doing here?" He hissed. "I can't believe you."

Artemis scowled, "Sorry for trying to save you."

"Do you know how fucked we all are now!?" Dick snapped, "He's going to KILL you." He was fine with dying but he was NOT fine with Artemis dying.

"And he's not going to kill you?" She looked at him and frowned, "Look I am going to be in big trouble after this is over but i swear this won't backfire." Maybe not the best choice of words, you never say that because that just makes it backfire. Right?

"Don't look at me, I’m feeling quite bare.”

Artemis sighed and looked back at the floor, "Look, I've got a tracking device on me. As soon as i contact Kid the league will be here." Foolproof, "Daniel is as good as-" She started to say but she paused when she heard some loud footsteps above them and then at the stairs.

"Dammit," Dick groaned. "If you're going to make contact with the league do it now please." Crawford was coming down here, "Crawfords on his way. You can hear his fat ass a mile away."

Crawford opened the door quickly and slammed it shut behind him, he didn't get a chance to see the two new brats but when he caught a glimpse of one he was rather unimpressed. Her hair was a black matted mess and the other was getting all buddy buddy with the bat brat and she was just ugly. "Fucking hell," He growled. How the fuck was he going to make any money off of those two.

Both ugly.

Their organs could do.

He walked up to the closet and stared down at the older girl. "Disgusting." He went and grabbed her by her hair and attempted to grab her but he was forced to let go when he was kicked roughly in the leg and he stumbled back.

"DON'T FUCKING TOUCH HER!"

Crawford looked down and growled, "How dare you!"

Nothing he did made that brat listen, hell even when he wasn't going to bother him he still had to be a little bitch! "Shut your damn mouth, Pretty boy." Crawford went and grabbed the girl by her hair again and let out a cry when he was kicked away. Crawford grunted when he was knocked to the floor and he looked at his hand when he noticed he'd pulled out a chunk of the girl's hair. His eyes narrowed when he saw something tangled in the hair.

"What's this?" He asked, holding it up to his face.

Artemis felt like she was going to puke, her tracking device. That was supposed to bring the league here! God dammit! She thought her hair would be a good place to hide it just in case she ended up like Dick and Evelyn. Butt naked.

"What is this?!" Crawford asked again but louder. He stood up, anger radiating off of him in waves.

"Lice?"

Crawford growled and crushed the small device between his fingers, "You're dead you stupid brat."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was hoping this would have been complete by the end of November...unfortunately I've got a problem with staying on track and reaching my goals. But hey we've only got one? Maybe two more chapters left for me to post, it may take a bit longer as I wasn't happy with how this story ended originally so I'm debating redoing the last chapter. Fingers crossed this will be done by February...because I'm super excited to post the sequel and work on some other projects!


	17. Chapter 17

"How did you know that girl was a target," Crawford hissed. He figured before he killed the ugly girl he'd try to get answers from her. "How did you know I'd send my men for that girl!?" How could she have known? How did she know who to hang around with in order to get brought here? Did that stupid poor street rat know about this too?

Artemis just stared at him blankly. Two of Crawford's goons were standing next to her with guns aimed for her head, she was a cornered animal. She already tried to look around the upstairs for any possible exits but she found only one.  
And it was padlocked. All the windows were covered with garbage bags and large boxes and bins were in front of the back sliding door. This would be impossible to get out of or well at least right now. If she could somehow get Crawford and his men distracted she could try something. Only problem was she didn't know what that something was.

Robin was good at thinking on his feet. He could form a foolproof plan out of thin air. Dammit...she just got him in so much trouble and she didn't want to even think about what Crawford would do to him. She just made this so much worse and she didn't think she could fix this.

"Hello?! Is there anything going on up in that pathetic head of yours?" Crawford snapped, hitting the old kitchen table with his fist. "How did you know?"

Artemis exhaled, "I didn't."

Crawford groaned and leaned back in the old rickety chair, "You didn't know. Just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time," He grumbled. "I wasn't born yesterday, girlie." He didn't appreciate stupid answers. And he hated stupid people.

"Listen sicko, you've been kidnapping anyone and everyone with black hair. It's not rocket science," Artemis sneered. "Your gross men are lurking in all the alleyways." She sat back and crossed her arms ignoring how the men with guns moved closer to her. "It's honestly a miracle Batman hasn't found you yet." She smirked slightly, "You better hope you have good health insurance, once he does find you the outcome wont be pleasant."

Crawford clenched his fists, "You are so lucky you're ugly." Oh the things he wanted to do to her to make her scream. The whole neighborhood would hear her then. But she was ugly, so none of that would happen. He'd just use Grayson, he still had to make him apologize for what he did. And he never to the chance to make him really bleed yet. Didn't he say something about using a knife?

He'd have to remember that for later.

"And you're so lucky there's guns aimed at me!" Artemis hissed spitting at him. She wanted nothing more than to shove an arrow so far up his ass it would come out of his mouth. Or maybe she could just kick his face in. Agh.

Crawford wiped the spit off of his cheek, "The league isn't even close to finding us," He replied. "You've lost."

"Confidence in this case. Is NOT key."

Crawford growled, "I'd shut up if I were you." He tapped his foot on the old carpet floor, "I'm not afraid to cause a blood bath up here."

"I'm terrified."

Crawford held back a scream of pure frustration. He had to get his anger out this girls was making him want to shoot himself in the face and burn in hell, she was the most obnoxious female he'd ever come across and that was saying a lot.  
His wife at one point was beyond insane. He didn't even know why he married her, all she was good for was sex. The pathetic woman couldn't even cook well and because of that they had to hire someone to cook instead. Worse yet she made an awful child too, he was psychotic.

Obviously the woman wasn't meant to be a mother.

Hell she was what...15 when she had the kid?

Crawford quickly stood up and turned to the two men, "Shove her in the pantry for now. I'll see how much she'll be worth," He said heading to the basement. "Maybe I'll sell her to Cadmus or something. They might want her." Because he sure didn't. 

____________

"What is your problem?" Evelyn hissed, for the last ten minutes her and that new short girl had been sitting there silently watching Dick attempt to get over to the door. "You're going to fall and hit your head!" Evelyn scowled, she'd go over there and stop him but he had the blanket and she really didn't want to walk around naked in front of the new girl.

It was uncomfortable.

"Shut up," He muttered leaning against the wall. He had to get out of this room and to Artemis, he couldn't just sit here and let her get hurt by him. This was an absolute disaster and he had to try and fix it somehow. He clenched his teeth, his legs were shaking and they hurt and he felt like he was going to faint but he wasn't giving up.

"God dammit you're an idiot! What are you trying to accomplish?? Pissing Crawford off so he brings you upstairs? Do you want to die??" Evelyn cried out, "That girl will be fine, it's not our problem. She's from the league or whatever, she can handle herself. Who knows maybe she kicked his butt and found Batman's kid!" She probably didn't but Evelyn didn't want Dick to freak out more than he already was. "Crawford wouldn't-"

"Shut up Evelyn!" Dick yelled, "You're not helping!"

Mary just sat there silently watching as the two argued back and forth, a cuss word here and there, some yelling, more cussing, yelling...wow these two acted like an old couple on a front porch. "That girl is nuts. She's probably dead," Mary said shrugging.   
Evelyn turned to Mary her eyes wide, "What? I'm just being honest."

"Can both of you shut up?" He wanted to shoot himself in the face and burn in hell right now.

"I'll shut up when you sit down!"

"No fuck you!"

"Fuck you Grayson! You're out of your mind right now, you're not in any condition to try and break out of here."

"I'm not out of my mind!"

"Sit down damn you! That girl from the league will take care of this."

"We're all fucked," Mary groaned, "You guys are making ME out of my mind," She whined. "I haven't even been here for two hours and I'm already sick of this."

Dick ignored her and eventually made it to the door but before he could even attempt to open it, Crawford's angry steps could be heard. 

"Dammit."

He knew what was coming and it wasn't going to be good. But at least it was one way to get out of here. 

  
__________

He made a promise to himself. A promise that he'd make Grayson sorry for ruining everything, make him apologize and then die a slow and painful death. And at first he didn't think he could go through with it, he'd killed plenty of brats. But it was never really in a brutal fashion, just a simple bullet to the head because he never really enjoyed their begging and screaming. But the longer he dealt with Grayson the more he wanted to hear that. He wanted to hear him beg for his life to be spared. He wanted to hear him scream when he slowly tears him apart, he wanted him to choke on his own blood. 

He wanted him to suffer. 

And he was going to do just that.

Crawford grinned as he shoved Grayson into the makeshift bedroom/office he made upstairs. "Now, before I go through with this," Crawford looked down at Grayson who was struggling to get up from the floor. "How the hell did you manage to contact that sidekick brat?"

Dick seemed like he was about to respond but Crawford just grabbed him by his hair and forced him over to the shitty bed he had. God damn he didn't want to get blood all over this it was all he had to sleep on. But he didn't have anywhere else to do this and he wasn't doing this on the floor. Friction burns were awful and he'd gotten some of his own. "I-" Dick started to say but he yelped when his head hit the brass headboard.

"Just shut up, you're only going to fucking lie to me," Crawford said as he grabbed his right arm and handcuffed it to the frame. "I don't like liars." He moved away and stood up straight, "I've been lied to an awful lot lately you know. From my family, my own employees, my boss." He paused and shrugged, "I'm sick of it. It really starts to hurt after awhile."

Dick wanted to scoff, was he seriously complaining about being lied to? "You're pathetic, Daniel," Dick muttered. Was it a good idea to poke the bear? No it really wasn't, Crawford seemed a bit more unhinged than he usually was and it was starting to make him feel uneasy.

He obviously knew what was going to happen. He was going to get raped again and at this point he couldn't bring himself to be surprised. Crawford just laughed and it made his skin crawl, "Pathetic? Is that all you have to say?" He walked over to his desk and picked up a cattle prod, "My dear Robin you're running out of snarky replies." He slowly walked back over to him, a sadistic grin on his face. "You're not as fun as you used to be, you know, your insults are such a drag and you don't feel good anymore." He sighed, "You're like a used chew toy. Broken, ugly and worn out."

Dick looked at him, wide eyed when he saw the cattle prod in hand. "I don't like worn out whores." Crawford sat down next to him and chuckled when Dick inches away from him, "I like new things. So it's time to get rid of you, but don't worry. I'll make sure our last time together is special."

"I'll pass on that," He replied, trying to hide the obvious fear.

Crawford growled and went to smack him with the cattle prod but frowned when nothing happened, it didn't turn on. "God dammit!" How did these break!? Mother f-

"You should really be prepared, Daniel," Dick sneered. "You're a mediocre 'bad guy.'"

Crawford stood up straight and clenched his fists and exhaled loudly, he seemed to want to say so many vulgar things but he held it in. "Lucky for you I have a spare somewhere downstairs. I will find it and I will shove it so far up your ass it comes out of damn mouth!" Crawford then stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut.

Dick didn't doubt that for a second so he was taking full advantage of the small amount of time he had before Crawford would come back up here. He looked around the room, most of the clutter he could see on the desk was completely useless and out of reach. And the nightstand only had an old lamp and a beer bottle.

There was absolutely nothing in this room that would help him get out of here. So Crawford seemed to have done something right, he didn't however put the handcuff on tight enough so with enough effort he could squeeze his wrist out.

That would take awhile.

Dick wanted to scream, he knew Crawford intended to carry out his threat and so much more. He was going to die, and he didn't want to go out with this. He tried to calm his breathing and he quickly scanned the room once more, desperate for anything that could help him... he focused back on the beer bottle, oh god he'd much rather beat his head in with that thing, that was a much more desirable way to die- wait. 

It could be sharp if broken.

That could hurt someone if used as a weapon.

Definitely not a weapon of choice but he was desperate right now. 

Dick jumped when the door was opened again and Crawford walked in with his other cattle prod. Where did he get those? What a freak he probably collected awful shit like that, agh.  
"I'm going to fucking tear you to shreds you disgusting fucking pest," Crawford spat out, his grip on the cattle prod tightening, "You've ruined everything I worked so hard on, you're fucking dead you god dammed brat!" He approached the boy, a wicked grin on his face. 

Dick forced himself to try and take a deep breath, okay this would work. It had to work, this was his once chance, he eyed the bottle once more and turned his attention back to Crawford who was standing a few feet back. 

He wasn't close enough, 

"What?"

Crawford paused mid-step and scowled. "What?" He narrowed his eyes, "Why'd you say what?"

"I can't hear you from over there," Dick replied. "You're too far away."

Crawford scoffed, "Are you trying to piss me off?" He walked up to him and spat at him, "It's not working you piece of trash."

"My bad, I'm running out of material." Dick shrugged and watched Crawford carefully as he slowly turned around and he took that as his chance to really piss Crawford off.

In one swift move he grabbed the beer bottle with his free hand and hit Crawford as hard as he possibly could on the back of his head and the large walrus of a man let out a pained cry and he fell forward hitting his forehead roughly on the corner of a dresser and roughly landed right on his chin and he didn't move.

Dick looked at Crawford's motionless body, his heart hammering in his chest.

It worked.

It actually worked.

He knocked Crawford out!

For how long? He didn't know so he had to work on getting free as fast as he could.

Dick sat up straight and he ignored the searing pain that shot up his spine and he tugged at the handcuffs and clenched his teeth when he could start to feel his wrist slipping out. Well he wouldn't really call it slipping out more like cutting into his already injured wrist and really fucking hurting. After 15 minutes of struggling to get free he managed to finally get his hand free, he felt like he'd really fucked up his thumb but he'd worry about that later because right now he had to focus on finding some clothes to cover himself and then find Artemis and try and get the hell out of here so they could end this once and for all.

He sighed and rubbed his raw and bloody wrist but froze when he could hear the floor creak and he felt his heart stop when he heard heavy breathing.

God no.

Dick slowly looked up and turned to look at where Crawford was laying but he wasn't lying on the floor anymore, no. He was standing next to him, his teeth clenched and blood dripping down from a large gash on his forehead and in his hands was the jagged remains of the beer bottle.

Crawford let out an almost animal-like scream and he lunged at Dick as if he was a pathetic fat animal closing in on his prey. Dick quickly moved away from him and he fell to the floor and scrambled away his legs trembling, as Crawford hopped over the bed post and grabbed him by his hair.

"Fuck off!" Dick hissed and he elbowed him in his gut and he grabbed the lamp off of the nightstand and wacked Crawford in the back with it as he stumbled back.

"I''m going to fucking kill you!" He screamed swinging the jagged bottle at the boy cutting into his arm. Dick silently cursed at himself for not moving quick enough and he quickly tried to find something else he could use to slow Crawford down. There was no way he could beat him without some sort of weapon, he wasn't strong enough right now and the room was starting to spin so that definitely did not help. Dick had already hit and thrown anything relatively sharp at Crawford and it did nothing to slow him down. Crawford managed to grab the boy by his hair and he pulled him close to him and held the harp edge of the beer bottle against his exposed neck.

This wasn't how he wanted to end this brats life but he wasn't going to waste this opportunity, "You fucked up, you really fucked up," He snarled, his grip on the boy tight, he didn't seem to have enough energy left to fight any further, "I hope you fucking rot, brat." The jagged piece of glass slowly penetrated the boy's bruised neck and he grinned, Dick let out a pained scream and within one swift motion Crawford cut into his neck and then pulled away. Dick immediately fell to the ground and gripped at his neck, blood seeping through his fingers. Crawford sighed and dropped the shard of glass and wiped his bloody hands on his pants and turned away to pick up his lamp.

"It didn't have to be this way, Pretty Boy." Crawford set his bedside lamp back on the nightstand, "If you just accepted your place, and took what I gave you I wouldn't have had to hurt you so bad." He turned back to face the boy, he'd somehow managed to sit up slightly, his hand still pressed up against his neck, the blood loss was astounding really. There wasn't an inch of his neck, chest or even the floor that wasn't full of his blood. He'd made quite the mess, "Maybe you can just accept this," He walked over to the boy and knelt down in front of him, "Give up, lay down and fucking die already," He said as he leaned closer and he grabbed him by his chin, "Accept your dea-" He started to say but he was cut off when he felt a god awful searing pain in his stomach. 

He froze, Dick grinned, showing his bloody teeth and Crawford slowly looked down, with his free hand he'd managed to stab him with the shard of glass. "Y-You Bitch!" Crawford screamed, he fell back and crawled to his knees and clutched his stomach. 

Dick wanted to laugh, he wanted to laugh so very badly. 

Dick laughed quietly but it sounded more like a cough, he wanted to say something along the lines of, he wasn't going to let Crawford get away with this. Or what did he have to lose? He was going to die probably in the next minute or so. So who cared?

This was Karma. 

He deserved to die, Crawford deserved to die.

Karma was a fucking bitch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so terribly sorry this took me so long to post, I had been hoping to have it finished sooner but I can't stay on a schedule it seems. But at least this was posted eventually, Fingers crossed I can have the next two chapters posted in a timely manner.
> 
> But wowie, Poor Dick :( Things didn't go too well for him in this chapter, but at least Crawford got what was coming for him. 
> 
> ~Kat


	18. Chapter 18

The pantry Crawford had his stupid men shove her in reeked like old potatoes and cigarettes and it made her stomach churn. Although the fact that Crawford thought he was getting away with this was laughable. Artemis just scowled and kicked the door as hard as she could, she'd been non stop kicking and ramming into the poor door for at least twenty minutes and the door was starting to give in. She could hear Crawford's goons who she'd named thing 1 and thing 2 out there panicking and trying to keep the door shut. If this situation wasn't so dire she'd laugh her ass off at them. They were the biggest idiots she'd ever come across and that was saying something considering the people she knew. She backed up a bit and took a deep breath and then she rammed her side against the door as hard as she could and she let out a surprised cry when the door fell and she fell along with it.

"Jesus fuck this girl is insane!" Thing 1 cried out.

Artemis quickly stood up and she rubbed her bad shoulder, it was throbbing. She quickly scanned her surroundings and she smirked when she saw a frying pan on the counter next to her. She grabbed it and quickly dodged a frantic punch from thing 2. She'd never beat someone up with a frying pan before so this would be fun.

Thing 2 stepped back when a frying pan nearly hit his head and he bumped into the flimsy table and toppled over with it, crying out like a pathetic animal. Thing one jumped away from Artemis and he grabbed a plate and used it to shield his face, but it shattered when the pan hit it. "BOSS THE GIRL WENT NUTS!" He cried out.

"Yeah I did!" Artemis quickly smacked his back roughly with the pan, the man yelped, crashing onto his knees and he crawled away from her struggling to get on his feet. Artemis quickly caught up to him and used her foot to force him down. And without a second thought she hit his head with the pan and he went silent. He would most likely have a pretty severe concussion or maybe even worse...but she didn't feel bad for him in the slightest, anyone who could be sick enough to be involved in human trafficking deserved that and so much worse.

"Y-You're nuts!"

Artemis turned around, eyes narrowed, thing 2 was hiding by the table like a coward. She walked over to him and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, the man not as heavy as she thought he'd be. "How do I get to the basement?" She hissed. When the man stayed silent she held the pan up, threatening to hit his head with it. "Don't make me ask again!" She snarled, "Otherwise you won't have a face anymore."

"Over there! B-by the stairs that lead up!" He fumbled through his pocket and handed her a key. Artemis took it, "Thankyou." She then kicked him where the sun didn't shine and wacked him in the face with the pan, knocking him out. He'd have a fun time fixing his nose.

She tossed the pan aside and looked at the key, good. Now she could get down there and talk with R-Dick about how the hell they could get out of here. Sure she could probably kick out a window but Dick looked like he was injured pretty badly and he was in no condition to escape with her, but she'd figure something out. 

She had to. 

She had to fix this disaster.

She'd already made a mess of this whole plan, she didn't want anyone else to get hurt or lose their lives. She exhaled and quickly made her way to the basement door and unlocked it, the rusted hinges making a loud creaking noise. She stood at the top of the stairs and when she didn't hear anything she turned on the lights and went down, the basement was really awful. The walls were an ugly wood paneling and the carpet was grossly worn out and it looked green but it was probably meant to be white at some point and all she could smell was mold and rotting wood.

Being down here for an extended amount of time didn't seem too good for the lungs with how bad it smelt. More the reason to find Dick and the others as fast as possible. She looked around and forced the first door she saw open, the doors weren't that sturdy. With how damp it was down here the wood was getting rotten and weak.

She looked in the room and sighed a breath of relief when she saw Evelyn and Mary sitting by the wall, "Thank god." She walked in the room and closed the door behind her making sure it didn't lock by mistake.

"I thought he killed you too," Mary mumbled.

Artemis furrowed her brows, her too? "What? he was down here?" 

"Yeah, Crawford took Dick upstairs-"

Artemis didn't stay to listen to what Evelyn was saying and she bolted up the stairs tripping on the first step. She then made her way up a second narrow flight of stairs and nearly ran into a door. There was no hall, just a door that was locked. "God dammit," She hissed, shaking the door.

****

Dying felt very anticlimactic.

There was no white light and there certainly was no life flashing before his eyes. Movies lied and so did the books.

It just felt like time was slowing down.

And like every ounce of energy in his body disappeared.

"OOooow," Crawford groaned as he curled up in a ball, clutching his wounded stomach. "You little brat!" He then continued to curse and groan but Dick didn't care enough to listen. He'd rather just close his eyes and go wherever dying people went. He felt like he got Crawford back. He doubted he'd die, he just wounded him. He'd bleed for a little and then it would clot up. Hey, or maybe he'd die? Honestly he was fine with that he'd be dead anyways so he wouldn't be able to hear Bruce's disappointment and disgust.

Dick wanted to scream when he heard the door shake and he forced himself to open his eyes, god dammit. Why wasn't he dying? Crawford really was a useless idiot if he couldn't even slit someone's throat?  
If he had the energy he'd do it himself.

"Dick!?" A familiar voice shouted.

Go away.

Leave me be.

I got this. Save someone else.

"God d-dammit!" Crawford hissed loudly.

Oh what a fool.

Why was it when he was getting something he wanted he had to get rescued? Hopefully he'd pass out soon from blood loss and then maybe die because Crawford definitely did not cut him deep enough which was hardly a surprise. The guy used the edge of a broken beer bottle. That really wasn't going to kill someone unless you used a lot more force which was something he failed to do. But then again he'd lost quite a bit of blood so maybe he'd go into shock and croak then.

"I s-swear w-when I get up!" Crawford hissed, his voice trembling. Clearly the man was weak, if you couldn't deal with getting stabbed in the stomach then he was a wuss.

*****

He should have figured Daniel Crawford would still be somewhere in Bludhaven, the city known for the mass amounts of old and decrepit buildings and very empty streets. 

Bludhaven was a pathetic city, in his eyes it held not a single ounce of potential and even if he did want to clean up these streets it seemed almost impossible, Gotham was already incredibly time consuming.

Batman narrowed his eyes as he watched a semi truck turn down a dark street that led to a poorer neighborhood. He'd been working on a solid lead and the idiocy with Artemis and Wally believe it or not helped. Artemis had gone off on her own and managed to get herself abducted by Crawford's men. All without informing anyone besides Wally and the team. And he saw red when he heard how badly it backfired and how the tracker went dead. Thankfully before it went dead it did ping in the outskirts of Bludhaven and that narrowed down the search greatly. And the truck he'd been tracking for the last week was spotted in the area as well, so he was being led right to Crawford.

Once he found that man it would be hard to hold back, he wanted nothing more than to beat that man until he couldn't breath. But that went up against everything he believed it, let the judicial system give him the sentence. It would be life, a life stuck in prison with criminals who murdered anyone who touched a minor.

Crawford was dead meat.

It wasn't difficult to follow the truck in the slightest and it led him directly to a small neighborhood with small homes with the windows all boarded up, trash everywhere, windows knocked in and everything looked grim. The house the truck pulled in front of was the only one that looked occupied. The home was a small two level home with a porch that seemed to be rotting and all the windows were covered with wood and trash bags and there seemed to be a padlock on the door.  
How the police here hadn't come across this was bewildering in all the wrong ways.

The truck's passenger door opened and a short female wearing all black jumped out and made her way to the back and opened it up while the driver sat in his seat most likely on his phone. 

It wouldn't be hard to take care of them, no one hurt his son and got away without every bone in their pathetic bodies broken, and no one would get away selling other people.

*****

"Alright, all we gotta do is get always 20k worth of drugs on this thing and get the hell out of this damn city," Luna hissed as she forced the back of the truck open. This was the last thing she wanted to do, she had a god awful headache, she was pretty sure her concussion she got from Grayson was getting worse and she just had this overall bad feeling in her gut. It was as if someone was tying her intestines into a knot and maybe using them for jump rope.

"Agh, you know the police won't find us anytime soon," The goon said from the driver's seat, the window rolled down. "The only thing we have to worry about is that stupid justice league."

Luna just scoffed, "I think I'd Rather have the police here," She replied, taking out a lift. "The league is-'' She paused and looked at the house across the street when she felt the hair on her arms raise up and she just had that feeling that someone was watching her. She narrowed her eyes and sighed when all she saw was a stray cat come out from a bush and lick its paw. "Anyways just help me?" She hissed. She wasn't hauling all this crap from the house by herself she felt like crap.

"Ugh yeah," The man grumbled, opening the door. 

"Go unlock the back fence and get what's in the shed, I'll get the boss." Luna nodded and tossed him some keys and walked up to the front door. 

The goon fiddled with the keys and started to walk towards the gate that led to the back yard and he froze when he heard some rustling in some of the overgrown bushes that lined the cracked driveway.

The wind was picking up and he shivered, his teeth chattering. He shuffled towards the gate, his hands trembling as he tried to unlock it, it was so incredibly cold out and he was struggling with unlocking it. "God dammit," He hissed through his clenched teeth.

"Need a hand?" A deep voice asked.

The man froze and he felt his heart stop and he slowly turned around and before he could process who was standing in front of him a fist came flying at his face and he collapsed to the ground groaning. He felt as if someone beat his nose in with a brick. "A-Ah-" He started to scream but he was grabbed by the collar of his shirt and he was lifted off of the ground and shoved up against the side of the house. He forced his eyes open and his mouth opened, "O-Oh god!" He screamed, it was the Bat. The damn Bat was right here holding him up in the air.

He was dead.

No- he was as good as dead.

"Where are the children," Batman growled. 

"B-Ba-Backyard-" The man stammered, oh god have mercy. 

oh god. 

Luna sighed as she walked out of the house with a large box in her arms and she trudged to the back of the truck and shoved the box in and scowled when she didn't see her supposed partner here helping. "Hello?" She cried out. She held back an angry curse and she stomped over to the back gate, her hands in her pockets. "I thought you-" She stopped in her tracks when she saw little droplets of blood on the concrete in front of the still closed gate. Okay what? She knelt down and pressed her finger against it, it was still wet. She stood up quickly and looked around her eyes wide and she held back a gasp when she saw the man passed out and pinned to the side of the house at least two feet off of the ground.

He was hanging by his shirt that had what looked almost like throwing knives in them. He was literally like a piece of paper you would pin to the board.

Oh boy.

This was gonna be bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go after this!
> 
> Ah I'm so happy, I feel like I've been working on this story for an eternity :,)
> 
> I'm hoping to have the last chapter posted in the near future, but I'm going to most likely re-do it....so there may be quite the wait. My weakest point with writing is action and I'm awful when it comes to writing an ending, so I'm hoping to improve it for you guys. Anyways wowie, Batman finally showed up, only took the worlds greatest detective an eon to find Crawford, I blame an idiot author....
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this mess of a chapter! Please don't be shy, leave me a comment <3 I love feedback, both positive and negative lol, That's the only way to improve they say!
> 
> ~Kat


End file.
